CC Minutes - 11/09/98 Work Session

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MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall November 9, 1998 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Fart, Tim Laue, Bobby Lee, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Betty Taylor Betty Taylor, Ken Tollenaar. I. CALL TO ORDER The November 9, 1998, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.; His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey presiding. The council reversed agenda items II and III at Mr. Laue's request, as he was arriving late. II. WORK SESSION: REVISIONS TO CITY'S VOTER'S PAMPHLET SIGNATURE GATHERING PROCESS Kate Fieland, Deputy City Recorder, provided the staff report. She recalled that in previous discussions about the use of paid petitioners in the gathering of signatures for placing arguments in the voter's pamphlet, the council had been advised that prohibiting paid signature gatherers was unconstitutional. At that time, she continued, the council decided that: 1) groups using paid signature gatherers would have to pay a $500 fee; 2) the signature gatherer would have to wear a button identifying himself or herself as paid; and 3) the petitions themselves would indicate that the person gathering the signatures was being paid. Ms. Fieland said during summer 1998 the City Manager received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asking the City to review fee requirements. Ms. Fieland said the proposed ordinance does away with the fee and the requirement that gatherers wear buttons, adding that was staff's recommendation. She explained that the City has limited resources to enforce the button requirement, resulting in "uneven" compliance. Ms. Fieland added that a similar requirement for initiative signature gathering does not exist. City Attorney Glenn Klein said that if a lawsuit challenging these requirements was filed, it would be a very expensive process for the City as they have not been tested in the courts. He said there are some reasonable arguments that can be put forward to defend the requirements, but the council must decide if it was worth the expense--about $100,000. Mr. Tollenaar said people have a general frustration about the initiative process, which was focused on paid signature gathering. He called the button requirement "overkill "but opposed eliminating the fee altogether, favoring instead a requirement for 300 signatures or $300 to include an argument in the voter's pamphlet. He said the fee was justified to cover the expenses of printing the pamphlet. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 9, 1998 Page 1 5:30 p.m.