Item B: Local Option Levy for City Services

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Action in order to maintain services and avoid further cutbacks in quality of life for the community. On January 14, the City Manager presented a plan for a City Service Fee. The fee would generate approximately $3 million to pay for: fire and ambulance services, • human services, • economic development and • library services. • It would be capped at $10 per month and include accountability and transparency measures, including restrictions on the use of the funds, an oversight committee and a review by the council after five years. The council directed the City Manager to bring that fee proposal to a public hearing on February 4. On January 22, the council held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the stormwater fee ordinance to amend that fee to be a stormwater and parks services fee. After hearing testimony from 22 citizens, the council expressed concerns in several areas about the overall Plan of Action and its components. The council concerns were: Total cost to households is too high. • The City Service Fee mechanism is regressive. • Collecting the City Service Fee would be complicated and the City does not yet have an • agreement with Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) around billing and collecting. The monthly City Service Fee would not be deductible on people’s income taxes. • As a result of these concerns expressed by the council, the City Manager presented a revised recommendation at the council work session on January 28. The revised recommendation, as amended and approved by the council , is as follows: Changed the stormwater and parks services fee so that: • Only the council, rather than the City Manager, may set the fee for FY14. ‒ Council will determine the amount of fee, if any, for FY14 as part of the council's ‒ FY14 budget approval process. Council be limited to setting a fee that includes a progressive tiered rate structure ‒ with the following elements to the extent feasible: a low-income program social equity component, a rate for residential and small commercial customers not to exceed $5 per month, and a rate for large commercial and industrial customers not to exceed $25 per month Replaced the public hearing on February 4 with a public hearing on a local option levy to • fund the same services that would have been included in the City Service Fee proposal. On February 4, the council met to consider action on setting up the mechanism to use the stormwater and parks services fee to pay for parks operations and maintenance, to discuss the S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130211\S130211B.doc