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revitalize the northeast quadrant; and <br /> Continued to seek regional cooperation on service delivery to reduce costs, including SLAIT <br />health insurance assessment/participation. <br /> Continued our commitment to transparency and effectiveness by proceeding with objective third <br />party consultant evaluations in Information Technology, Fire and Public Works <br /> Finance made strides in proceeding with software implementation; and <br /> Making the hard decisions and actions required to plan to balance the FY 08 and FY 09 Budgets. <br />Not only did Staff accomplish Council goals they worked diligently within their departments to meet the <br />day-to-day needs of our citizens in the face of exceptional challenges a culmination of which has been <br />prepared for your consideration in this report. <br />In the coming year, we will continue to focus on Council priorities and work to ensure the quality of life <br />and commitment to municipal effectiveness our residents expect. A copy of the goals reviewed by <br />Council in September and adopted January 5 is attached at the end of this document. <br />Outlook for FY 09 and Beyond <br />Given the recent downturn in the financial markets, the City will have to strike a delicate balance <br />between employee compensation and benefits relative to actual inflation and to the continuing budget <br />constraints. It is my goal to retain our highly committed quality staff and to focus on revenue <br />enhancement rather than jeopardize long term quality services Council chooses to provide. The health <br />of our City depends on this balance. To the extent possible, we will continue to educate the public about <br />our efforts to be more efficient, more creative, and more responsive in order to make the revenue <br />enhancements and service reductions a more educated choice of the residents, whatever their decision. <br />Whatever strategic goals are adopted going forward, the directors, staff and I will do everything possible <br />to meet those goals. Staff is ready to implement the decisions of Council. We hope to improve our <br />working relationship with Council in order to come together as a team to tackle the difficult financial <br />times we are now facing enabling the community to emerge healthy and stable for the next century. <br />I would like to thank all of the employees of the City of University City on a job well-done and that they <br />are very much appreciated by me and our citizens. <br />Respectfully submitted, <br />Julie Feier <br />City Manager <br />î <br /> <br />