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MINUTES <br /> <br /> Eugene City Council <br /> McNutt Room--City Hall <br /> <br /> December 6, 1999 <br /> 5:30 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Pat Fart, Bobby Lee, Betty <br /> Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Pap~, Gary Rayor. <br /> <br />DINNER WORK SESSION OF THE EUGENE CITY COUNCIL <br /> <br />Mayor James D. Torrey called the work session of the City Council to order. <br /> <br />A. Work Session: Construction Permit Fund Status <br /> <br />Paul Farmer, Planning and Development Department Director, provided introductory remarks. He said that <br />Fund 151, the Construction Permit Fund, supported not only permit review and inspection staff but loaned <br />staff from the Fire and Public Works departments as well. The fund was mandated to be 100 percent fee <br />supported in past years; staff had recently indicated to the Budget Committee it did not think that the approach <br />was sustainable. Mr. Farmer noted that Seattle had undertaken a similar experiment and attempted to collect <br />95 percent of costs, but had abandoned that and gone to a 80-20 cost-share split, which was the formula <br />Eugene had employed prior to the passage of ballot measures 47/50. He noted reductions in the personnel <br />supported by the fund and reductions in other areas, such as supplies and fleet. He anticipated the budget <br />review would include discussion of ways to fix the fund in the coming years. <br /> <br />Mr. Farmer acknowledged the contributions of Marsha Miller, Keli Osbom, Scott Luell, and Shelly Warren of <br />the Planning and Development Department to the presentation <br /> <br />Ms. Osborn, Planning and Development Department, noted that staff was not requesting any council action at <br />this point, but wished to ensure the council was up to date on the status of the fund. She provided the council <br />with a presentation on the history of the fund. She described the current status of the fund, expanding on Mr. <br />Farmer's earlier remarks about reductions in personnel and noting continuous improvement measures. Ms. <br />Osborn reviewed some possible options for making up the shortfall projected in revenues at this point, which <br />included fee increases, service reductions, and a new funding source. She noted the staff proposal to process a <br />request for State fee increases, establish a department advisory committee to examine some of the issues <br />related to the fund, and direct a one-time infusion from the General Fund to Fund 151 to secure the fund <br />reserve through 2000. Ms. Osborn reviewed a time line associated with the staff proposal. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr asked if the department had done any studies determining the average person hours spent reviewing a <br />building permit for a single-family house. Ms. Osbom said staff had that information although she was unsure <br />how useful it was. She said it was somewhat dated. Mr. Farr suggested that the information would benefit the <br />community by informing it how its charges compared to other communities. He said that there was a <br />perception that the City spent too many hours per permit. Ms. Osborn said that staff could do further analysis. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 1999 Page 1 <br /> 5:30 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />