Item 2A - Minutes Approval - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioners had a joint meeting with the Veneta City Council and were unable to attend the work session. Mr. Kelly said that many people did not realize that the historic funding sources for street preservation had diminished or not kept pace with inflation and that property taxes were not used for street mainte- nance. He commented that he had previously supported the gas tax and TSMF and would likely do so again if the ordinance was substantially similar to that which came before the council in 2002. He cautioned that the motion was the start of the process and it was necessary to obtain community support, particularly from the chamber. Ms. Bettman said that regardless of what terminology was used, the TSMF was a tax and with the $2 million from the existing gas tax would represent a $6.5 million tax increase, the largest burden would fall on residents of the City. She said the issue should go to the ballot. She stated that the City should be mn like a household, not a business, and the first priority should be preserving assets instead of expansion. She said she did not believe that asset preservation through road maintenance had been a long-term City priority. She said that she voted against new road projects because they contained funds that could be used to preserve the existing street system. She said the TSMF was repealed the last time because the Chamber of Commerce threatened to put the issue on the ballot. Mr. Poling, seconded by Mr. Pap6, moved to direct the City Manager to return to the City Council prior to the end of the calendar year with draft ordinances increasing the local motor vehicle fuel tax by an additional two cents (to five cents per gallon) and establishing a Transportation Sys- tem Maintenance Fee. Mr. Pap6 asked if Springfield had been able to fill the gap in transportation funding with OTIA III funds transferred by the County. Mr. Corey said a major difference was the comparative size of the backlog of deferred maintenance between Springfield and Eugene. Springfield Public Works Director Dan Brown explained that the Springfield City Council had set a target of $1.6 million in additional revenue and $900,000 was to come from the TSMF. He said that federal surface transportation funding combined with OTIA III funds and the County OTIA III transfer funds equaled $900,000 and the target was met. Mr. Pap6, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to amend the motion to in- clude direction to staff to return to the City Council with a potential bond- ing proposal as an option to address pavement preservation and the back- log of deferred maintenance. In response to a question from City Manager Taylor, Mr. Pap6 said the funding mechanism should be a general obligation bond. Mr. Kelly said he could not support the amendment because of his concern about adding another fundamental City program to the programs that would be placed before the voters for property tax bonds. Ms. Taylor said she could consider asking the voters if they wanted to Support a bond action, but preferred to see new road or road upgrading included. Ms. Bettman said she preferred Mr. Pap6's approach to that of simply raising taxes by increasing the gas tax and charging a fee. She said the community would be included in the discussion of priorities and voters could make their choices. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 5 Work Session