6.4. SR 05-22-1995a~
~lk~ •
River
Item 6.4.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: Pat Klaers, City Ad i ist r
DATE: May 22, 1995 ~ ~
,..
SUBJECT: Reconsider Training Proposal from
Training Networks, Inc.
At the May 8, 1995, City Council meeting, no decision was made on the
Training Networks, Inc., proposal. The Council requested some information
from me on the financing of this $12,500 project. Attached for your
information is the May 8 background on this Training Networks proposal
from Bill Rubin and Sandy Bower.
• Overall, I support the Training Networks, Inc., proposal to help improve the
city's permitting, review, and inspections process.
With that being said, I must also indicate that I am not sure that a
significant problem exists with the city's permitting, review, and inspection
process, and I am not sure that the Training Networks, Inc., proposal will
make a significant impact in improving the city's process. However, I do
know that the city staff has never gone through a training process of this
type. Also, I do know that we, as a staff, can always get better in our
customer service area and in serving the public. Additionally, I know that
sometimes rumors circulate in a community like Elk River and these rumors
can help shape the perception of the public and this can turn into "reality" in
spite of the true interaction between city staff and the public. Finally, I also
know that working with Sandy Bower and Lee Colby will be viewed as a
"positive" in terms of the city's attempt to more cooperatively work with the
public and the developers and future business owners that come to our
community. Therefore, in this regard, it seems like $12,500 is a relatively
cheap investment for the city in spite of the true results of the program being
somewhat unknown at this time. It is a "guess" as to whether or not this
program will impact the city staff, but my guess is that it will impact the city
staff and it will impact us in a very positive manner.
•
13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425
• Regarding the $12,500 expenditure, it is suggested that $6,250 of this
amount come from the City Council Contingency Fund; $3,250 from the
Conferences and Schools budget line item from the City Council,
Administration, Building and Zoning, and Planning budgets; and $3,000 from
the savings that the city has experienced due to the planning intern leaving
the city two months early and this position not being filled immediately.
It should be noted that the City Council Contingency budget is $183,500 for
1995. This must cover all wage increases for 1995, comp worth increases for
1995, new employees for 1995, and other more typical contingency
expenditures that are authorized annually by the City Council. One
additional non-typical expenditure in 1995 that may have to come out of the
Council Contingency Fund is any necessary expenses related to the fire
department retirement program and change over to the defined contribution
system. We are still evaluating the overall status of the Council Contingency
Fund, but nonetheless, it appears that there should be $6,250 available for
this training program.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the council approve the proposal for training services
• for the City of Elk River as offered by Training Networks, Inc., in the amount
of $12,488. The funding for this program will be 50 percent from the City
Council Contingency Fund and 50 percent from various budget line items as
outlined above.
•