08/31/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Mr. Gleason said that by reducing the capital maintenance backlog, savings would accrue as operating efficiencies and become the beginning cash balance. He said it is also possible that more savings can be achieved than staff is predicting. He added that if this fails to produce sufficient savings, then service reductions are in order. Respond~ng to a question from Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Gleason said that the savings predicted in capital is realized through the life cycle cost of the asset, much of which has to do with length and time of the depreciation versus its drop in operating and maintenance costs. Ms. Bascom arrived at the meeting. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to delete funding for the Department of Public Safety's (DPS) Community Policing Program ($500,000). Mr. MacDonald did not support the motion, saying the council had approved the DPS Long Range Plan which included goals of improving preventive activities to decrease interventive and direct law enforcement response for two reasons: to make the community more liveable and to eventually reduce per capita expendi- ture on public safety. He expressed the view that the Eugene Decisions survey questionnaire did not adequately address the issue and this was one of the areas in which the council needed to diverge from the information received, and work to build public support for the program. e Mr. Boles suggested that those questioning the council's decision in this matter can be told the following: 1) the DPS Long-Range Plan called for funding the program at $4.7 million annually, which has now been pared back to the current level--if cost savings are available; 2) the community will either pay more costs later or invest now--a sustainability argument; and 3) the City purposefully recruited a police chief who had experience with community policing. Saying she was not denigrating community problems, Ms. Ehrman pointed out that the council had made a substantial addition to the human services allocation, an access point for prevention she would rather emphasize. She also ques- tioned the sustainability of the program. The motion failed, 2:6; Ms. Ehrman and Ms. Bascom in favor. Mr. Rutan said the program may face cash flow problems because it may be a long time before sufficient cost savings can be realized. Mr. MacDonald noted that the council is now faced with building community support for the program and finding an alternative revenue source should cost savings not be realized, or be forced to cut the program back. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 31, 1992 Page 2 5:30 p.m.