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MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE December 21, 2020 Online Broadcast Meeting Present: Councilmembers Bullock, Litten, &Neff Also Present: Councilmembers O'Malley, Rader, & Shachner, Mayor George, Finance Director Rancatore, Director Corrigan, Director Dillinger, Chief Dunphy, Director Ducu, Director Leininger, Jessica Eddy of the Finance Department, a couple members of the public, Clerk Bach, & Deputy Clerk Lascu taking minutes Start time: 6:00 p.m. AGENDA Chairman Bullock opened the meeting by giving an overview of the city budget timeline. Mayor's Office Budget Mayor George Mayor George gave a brief presentation regarding her office,which included an organizational breakdown chart and an overview of the office's duties in enforcing the city's ordinances. The mayor stated that the city experienced reduced revenues due to COVID and that every department modified its services to deal with the realities of the virus. The modified services will continue through at least the first half of 2021. She shared her pride in the small business and residential rent relief programs that the city devised. Mayor George also reviewed the actions of the Community Relations department, and its plans moving forward. Melissa Garrett was tasked with hosting the coronavirus internal taskforce over the past year,which entailed preparing daily situation reports and increasing the city's social media presence. The Community Relations department will be working on further developing the ADA&Anti-Racism taskforces in the upcoming year. Chairman Bullock stated that the mayor's team has done an effective job of communicating the city's COVID response. He noted that the proposed budget for the mayor's office in 2021 is comparable to the trend line in 2019, compared to 18% lower projections for the 2020 budget. He added it appeared there was no increase in staff and that Council approved the request to creat a chief of staff position. Mayor George noted that the former title of the chief of staff position was executive assistant to the Mayor. It was changed due to John Storey's experience in law and economic development. She added that he is making a bit more than his predecessor,but still within the position's salary band. Councilmember Litten stated that while the difference is miniscule, it appeared that the office's budget increased by$15,000 overall. Mayor George explained the differences in the budget compared to 2020, highlighting that employees took furlough as part of the city's