02/11/1980 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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(\ already approved. If members of the Council wished to hear more public testimony on the matter~ the entire issue of budget cutting should be reopened, rather than taking on one issue at a time, which would not result in a balanced budget by the end of the fiscal year. She felt that affected departments should be notified of the possibility of alternative budget cuts and their exact nature. Ms. Schue indicated she shared the concerns with the other members of the Council, but felt the citizens should be allowed to make their presentation. . ( Mr. Obie stated that there is an obligation of the Council to listen to the citizens at some time, and in an orderly fashion. He expressed agreement that this issue should be placed on a future agenda. Mr. Obie also requested that Mr. Henry provide the Council with alterna- tive cuts in lieu of swimming pools, so that all would be aware of the consequences of the alternatives. He recommended having this issue placed on a future agenda and having adequate publicity and adequate information, and,he expressed appreciation to the citizens who appeared at the meeting. Mr. Delay noted that at least three separate issues are involved: 1) long-term plan regarding Jefferson Pool; 2) errors may have been made in the process of identifying the budget cuts; and 3) viable alternative cuts must be presented in lieu of the approved budget cuts. He had suggested to citizens that they present written testi- mony to the Councilors which would be included in their packets for study over the weekend, but he noted that no testimony was in the packet so they had no more information than before. e Mr. Lieuallen stated he did not encourage citizens to come to the Council meeting tonight in the hopes of their being able to testify; rather, he had tried to convince people that tonight's Council meeting was not the appropriate forum. Ho~ever, he indicated that a response must be made to their request and that, although the issue could not be resolved tonight, the presentation could be made. Mayor Keller indicated that it would highly inappropriate to support the motion. He stated it is always in the best interests of the City that both sides be heard. Sunday closures at the Library also are unpopular, but those decisions had to be rendered to balance the budget. There are no alternatives, such as deficit spending, since the voters approve the budget and the Budget Committee is operating under great hardships as they try to deal with expanded services and less funds. When the recommendations for the rotating pool closure and Sunday closures at the Library were presented, the Council was sensitive that these would be controversial. He reaffirmed the position that it would be highly inappropriate to deal only with the pool closures, but would be supportive of advertising e 2/11/80--2