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Sheriff Clements closed by stating that a "whole lot of work" needed to be done to remove the impedi- ments to the possible formation of a public safety district. He said if the County did not get the Metro Plan corrected the timelines would be so compacted that the district would not be able to be placed on the ballot in 2006. Commissioner Green encouraged the council to think of public safety as a system. He said budgeting for more police officers added to the District Attorney's work load in terms of charges being filed and increased the work at the County Jail. He noted that included in the County's three-prong approach, along with the formation of the task force and the proposal for the public safety district, was the possibility that the County would have to continue reducing its services. He indicated that he did not support further reductions in services. Commissioner Green related that the board had just adopted a resolution declaring September 2004 to be Alcohol Recovery Month in order to promote treatment. He acknowledged that there was not enough money spent on substance abuse treatment, though it was well-known that such treatment worked. Mayor Torrey opened the floor for questions and comments. Mr. Meisner commented that the district would be property tax-based and the voters were consistently resistant to property taxes. He lamented that Ballot Measures 47 and 50 had eliminated the tax base "forever." A fire alarm caused the meeting to evacuate for approximately ten minutes. Mr. Kelly asked what made the commissioners believe they could convince voters to support the district. Commissioner Green responded that he wanted to place the information before the voters and had a fiduciary responsibility to do so. He said he would campaign for the district by speaking a great deal on the benefits of such a district. Sheriff Clements commented that the County was approaching the issue with a reasonable timeline. He opined that past bond issues had not been allowed enough time. He said the County needed to be careful to give the right message and thought that the fact that it would be funded by a permanent rate would be helpful. Mr. Kelly expressed reluctance to act on anything prior to seeing the report from the task force. Commissioner Green responded that the report would be completed at the end of October. In response to another concern expressed by Mr. Kelly, Sheriff Clements assured him that governance of the district was mandated to fall under the jurisdiction of the Board of County Commissioners. He said this could only be changed through a legislative decision. Ms. Taylor remarked that she was leery of special governments. She asked if the Springfield jail would affect Eugene. Sheriff Clements replied that the clientele the Springfield jail would address was fundamentally different than the clientele of the County jail. He felt that building the jail in Springfield would influence voters there not to support the public safety district, as they would perceive their j ail needs as having been met. Sheriff Clements supported general purpose governments, but recognized that property tax measures had caused an inequity between expenditures and revenues. He predicted a variety of benefits would accrue MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 15, 2004 Page 3 Work Session