05/21/1979 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL Special Meeting May 21, 1979 Special meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by City Council President Jack Delay at 7:30 p.m., Council Chambers, with the following Councilors present: Betty Smith, D. W. Hamel, Eric Haws, Scott Lieuallen, Brian Obie, Gretchen Miller, and Emily Schue. Mayor Gus Keller was absent. I. PUBLIC HEARING--BALLOT MEASURES RE: 1979-80 TAX RATE e lit A. Levy For General City Operating Budget Manager reviewed the history of the 1979-80 proposed budget. Origi- nally, the staff asked the Budget Committee for a 7.I-percent budget increase over the previous year's spending. This represented $600,000 in cuts in personnel services and programs. When considered in light of the II-percent inflation and 2.5-percent city growth, it was an austere budget. It was discovered, however, that because non-property tax revenues were expected to grow only one-half percent this year, it would mean heavy reliance on the property tax. The second recommen- dation of the staff to the Budget Committee was to seek a new source of revenue, i.e., the real estate transfer tax. A total reliance on the property tax would increase that tax by 18 percent for operating purposes. If the real estate transfer tax is put into effect, it is estimated that it will produce $1.6 million in revenue. This would have reduced the property tax for operations to a $100,000 increase. The second, less desirable suggestion was to raise the property tax to a nine-percent level. This would require another $900,000 be cut from the budget and from the current service level. The Budget Committee, by a split vote, took two actions. They increased the proposed expenditures by $400,000 to an 8.6-percent level, restoring some of the cuts, and they accepted the transfer tax as well as pro- posing a tax on the gross receipts of business. At the last Council meeting, the Manager proposed some cuts which brought the figure to $7,504,210 or 7.8 percent above the current year's operating expenditures. The required operating property tax for operating purposes for the City's share is a 20-percent increase over 178-79. If the transfer tax were approved by the voters, the net increase in property taxes for operating purposes would be $300,000 or 2.8 percent. If the business .tax were passed (without the transfer tax), $600,000 would be needed in the operating levy, or 6.2 percent. 5/21/79--1 ZKJ