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MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE <br /> December 20, 2021 <br /> City Hall Auditorium <br /> Present: Councilmembers Bullock, Shachner, Litten <br /> Also Present: Councilmembers Kepple, Neff, & Rader, Mayor George, Finance Director <br /> Rancatore, Assistant Director Schuster, Assistant Director Eddy, Manager Coletta, Director <br /> Ducu, Director Gelsomino, Clerk Bach, & Deputy Clerk Lascu taking minutes <br /> Start time: 6:00 p.m. <br /> AGENDA <br /> Approval of the minutes of the December 13, 2021 meeting of the Finance Committee <br /> Motion by Chairman Bullock, seconded by Councilmember Litten to approve the minutes from <br /> the December 13'h Finance Committee meeting. All members in favor. Motion passed. The <br /> minutes were approved. <br /> Council Office Budget Clerk Bach <br /> Clerk Bach gave an overview of the Council Office budget presentation, noting that the focus of <br /> it would remain on the administrative business of Council. She also gave a recap of 2021 <br /> highlights in the Council Office that include the expansion of video recording to include all <br /> committee meetings, improved quality of video recordings (which resulted from Council's <br /> $40,000 investment in a camera system), and significantly increasing public engagement through <br /> the use of eComment. <br /> The core functions of the Council Office were reviewed. These include supervising public <br /> meetings and adopted legislation, which take more than 50% of staff's time. The number of <br /> public meetings in 2021 was slightly down compared to years past and the amount of legislation <br /> passed was virtually the same. <br /> Public engagement through eComment was highlighted during the presentation. The eComment <br /> feature was not available in 2019, was then introduced in a blended version in 2020, and its use <br /> has exploded in 2021. The majority of eComments were made in regard to items being reviewed <br /> in committee meetings. <br /> Clerk Bach reviewed components of the office's budget. Generally, the Finance Department <br /> encouraged some line items to be lowered compared to year's past to better reflect what the <br /> office spending levels, as parts of the budget have been underutilized in the past. All <br /> councilmembers were encourage to attend professional development events or opportunities. <br /> No new memberships were added to the 2021 budget. The Clean Fuels Ohio membership fee <br /> was placed in the Public Works Department budget. $200 was added to the membership <br /> 1 <br />