Finance Committee - 7/5/2018 Page 12
We actually have probably reduced the volume of items by 30% so it would only reduce the amount of dollars
you are seeing by 2 to 4%. That may vary a little bit but not a terrible lot.
Mayor Donchess
Now if you do e-mail the entire committee, could you make sure that the communication appears on the
agenda of the next Committee meeting so that we are not privately communicating about issues of substance?
So if you send it, let’s put it as a communication on here and just accept it and everybody will be able to see
what has been sent; everybody meaning the public and the other Aldermen.
Alderman Laws
| have got no problem personally with doing this especially if it is pretty standard for other municipalities to do it
this way. My main concern would be that | feel like we are standing on the precipice of a cliff right now and at
the bottom are going to be a bunch of angry people with pitchforks once this tax revaluation comes out. If we
start making it easier for government to spend money without being held accountable for it, | feel like people
are going to riot in the streets. That’s my concern personally. | think maybe now, again, | am in support of the
idea but maybe now isn’t the time to do it. Maybe we should wait until the blood has dried a little bit before we
start.
Mayor Donchess
You are using such colorful language
Alderman Laws
If I'm really dramatic than and it takes a little wind out of their sails.
Alderman Caron
| remember when we had the threshold brought up because we didn’t have to do some of the things especially
for Park Rec and Alderman Laws makes a valid point but maybe we need to think about maybe a small
increase, going to $15,000.00 or something like that so people don’t think we are out of control. But | think I’d
like to see the communication of other communities our size and see where it goes. But you are right, because
they are in here for such minute things, $10,000.00 and a lot of it is repair things, which is everyday work for a
department.
Alderman Laws
Well perhaps what would $10,000.00 be adjusted for inflation over the last 16 years?
Mr. Kooken
| actually have that | believe.
Alderman Laws
| feel like that would be a fair compromise. It would be much easier to agree to something like that with the
community and say this is the way it is.
Mr. Kooken
$10,000.00 is now $14,000.00. based on 2018.
