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Mayor Hartnett said regardless of the outcome of the traffic issue, at the minimum he would like to see the recommendations for the four Patrol officers, three CSOs, three sergeants and the Dispatcher approved. "We might as well get moving on these. If review of the traffic data causes us to change that, we will ask staff to adjust their financial forecasts and absorption rates. We are probably in good shape to get started on those recommendations." Councilman Ruskin said he could support the recommendations, but at the final vote he "might take a position for more officers." In answer to Councilman Leipzig's questions, City Manager Everett said we currently have four Traffic positions and the consultant said that was adequate. Councilman Leipzig asked, "If information were to come back and we agreed we needed more Traffic positions, would that ratio (of recommendations) change?" City Manager Everett said that would not impact going forward with the other recommendations. Councilman Leipzig said, "the more decisions we can make tonight and in the near future, the better. This had been going on far too long... In my two and a half years here, we have had some contentious negotiations with the POA. When I first sat down with the Police Chief and the City Manager, roughly the comments were, we are well staffed. We are not well staffed apparently. We're discussing a couple of extra positions in Traffic. That's fine if we can get an answer on that and move forward. We have made some major progress in two years. We also have to talk about and look at some numbers. I said earlier in the year, I want to discuss this during the budget process in June, because I thought we were talking about ten people and roughly a million dollars. Pretty dam close. So I think the sooner we can look at numbers and not put it off to the next budget session, for a year or two down the road, the better offwe'll be. We have to find some money regardless of the traffic issue." City Manager Everett said we can absorb some numbers of people this year, and we will bring all the cost figures back to you. Vice Mayor Howard said, "The recommendations are quite clear as far as the Patrol officers, sergeants, CSOs and Dispatch, and I don't sense that will change. The numbers would, if anything, possibly increase the number of people we want to hire, but these recommendations wouldn't change. We have vacancies we need to fill now, and the sooner we send out the message that we are hiring, that we do want to have more than adequate staffing in our City, that may be an incentive for people to come apply. The longer we drag it out, the message is that maybe we aren't serious as we claim to be. We need to get on with this right away." SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 55 OCTOBER 13, 1997 MINUTES Page No. 582 PAGE 21