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bridge financing but said he was unsure the entire amount could be absorbed into the General Fund unless <br />something was done to change the overall revenue structure. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé agreed with the remarks of Mr. Kelly. Responding to a question from Mr. Papé, City Manager <br />Taylor indicated that the upcoming budget would include about $2 million in annualized revenue available <br />for allocation; he would make recommendations on its allocation, but the $700,000 being contemplated <br />would not come from that source. That was an option the council had, but he thought other council <br />priorities might be considered more important while the City still had the opportunity to ask the voters to <br />support the current level of library services. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé asked about the potential impact of compression due to other possible levies. Financial Analysis <br />Manager Sue Cutsogeorge said that currently, the City was not in compression and staff did not anticipate <br />the City would be in compression as a result of the library or after-school levy. The parks bond was outside <br />the cap and did not affect compression. She confirmed, in response to a follow-up question from Mr. Papé, <br />that if the Tax Court decision regarding the after-school levy was upheld, the education component of the <br />property tax would be in compression. City Manager Taylor said the superintendents of the school districts <br />indicated that they would live with the decision of the Tax Court while it was under appeal, which meant the <br />school levy within the municipal cap would be included in the districts’ caps. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé thought the City was moving in the right direction by shifting costs to the General Fund. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Papé about the contingency fund identified in the forecast of require- <br />ments, Ms. Cutsogeorge said staff projected the assessed value over the next four years, and if it overesti- <br />mated the target, the contingency fund could offset the inaccuracies, any unexpected expenses, and cover the <br />costs of compression. Responding to a follow-up question from Mr. Papé, Ms. Cutsogeorge said the <br />contingency fund could not be used for General Fund purposes. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman acknowledged the popularity of library programs and emphasized her support for the library. <br />She asked how much of the General Fund cost of library operations was revenue-supported. Ms. Bennett <br />said it was not considered a revenue-supported service; only a small amount came in through fines or fees. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said because the library was a very popular service, there was a temptation to seek a local <br />option levy for those services as it was more likely to pass. However, she considered the library to be an <br />ongoing General Fund service. She felt any new services to be funded by the money mentioned by City <br />Manager Taylor should be weighed against the fact the library was an ongoing service. She was reluctant to <br />support the staff-proposed motion because it was specific about the amount of the levy and the council had <br />not yet seen the manager’s proposed fiscal year 2008 budget. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, City Attorney Glenn Klein indicated that the council would be <br />considering a resolution and it could be amended in May after the council had seen the budget. Today the <br />council was merely giving direction to staff to prepare a resolution. City Manager Taylor said the council <br />had until July 26 to make final decision about what to place on the ballot. Ms. Bennett added that even if <br />the measure was authorized by the council, placed on the ballot, and approved by the voters, the City could <br />under-levy the local option levy if the council chose to fund the service from another source. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor agreed that the library was a basic service and she thought it was ridiculous that the council had <br />not pursued other forms of revenue, which was a long-time council goal. She said Springfield was <br />considering a business tax, and suggested that Eugene could do the same. She determined from City <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 12, 2006 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />