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Ms. Taylor also supported a business license tax and asked for more information about Portland's <br />business license tax. She asked if Eugene could collect its tax in the same manner as Portland. She added <br />that she thought Eugene could learn from Portland's approach to taxing. <br />Mr. Pryor expressed appreciation for the staff's effort. He believed the council should continue to <br />demonstrate that it was spending the public's money in the most responsible way possible. The council <br />should keep public acceptance in mind in regard to any taxing options and avoid unilateral action. He <br />said the council should also consider the consequences of its decision. Some properties cost more to <br />serve than other properties and the council must find a balance between those uses that provide a net gain <br />and those that did not so it could support all uses. <br />Mr. Poling believed the City had demonstrated fiscal responsibility in recent years. However, he was <br />hesitant to offer the voters a new tax. If the council proceeded with such a tax he believed it was <br />important that the funding be earmarked for basic services to win public support. <br />Mayor Piercy believed the road measure demonstrated that the public felt it had an investment to protect. <br />She thought there were similar services where the City could lose its investment if it was not protected, <br />which could help initiate a conversation with the voters. Human services could be couched in terms of <br />investment in the family. She believed the council needed to take a practical approach that spoke to why <br />services made a difference in the lives of residents. <br />Mr. Zelenka suggested that the City's outstanding needs should be quantified and prioritized before the <br />council approached the community about its willingness to invest in services. He believed that specific <br />needs and services should be tied to a specific funding source. He advocated for easily understandable <br />revenues with low administrative costs. <br />Ms. Ortiz asked if a fire taxing district would be part of the council discussion. City Manager Ruiz said <br />yes. <br />Ms. Taylor hoped the City shared the presentation with the neighborhood associations. <br />Ms. Taylor distinguished between temporary revenues intended to address a specific need like road <br />repairs and more permanent revenues. She did not like dedicating revenues to specific uses because the <br />council did not know what all the future service needs would be. She believed that if the council <br />requested general purpose money it could point to what it planned to spend it on. <br />Mr. Pryor suggested the challenge with asking the voters for long -term funding was that the council could <br />not always state how the money would be spent. He believed short -term, one -time funding was a simple <br />conversation. A conversation about creating sustainable long -term funding was very difficult because it <br />involved the community's trust. He anticipated the council would need to reexamine its policies if it <br />wished to have such a conversation to clarify those policies for the public and build trust. <br />Recognizing the time and effort it would require, Mayor Piercy emphasized the importance of a real <br />community conversation about the City's financial status, what the council was attempting to accomplish, <br />and why. <br />Mr. Zelenka pointed out the City had done things differently and reduced its budget over the past several <br />years. There was more to do, but it was at the margins. Unless the City had more money, the council <br />would have to reduce services. He acknowledged challenging economic times and suggested that as <br />things turned around, it would be a good time to have the community conversation. He agreed there was <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council June 20, 2012 Page 2 <br />Work Session <br />