Item 2D - 2005 Leg.Policies Doc - Laserfiche WebLink

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II. Home Rule and The Region A. EUGENE, A CHARTER CITY The City urges the Legislature to respect the rights of local governments to exercise local control over local responsibilities provided by the Oregon Constitution. This includes protecting the rights of city residents to determine the contents of city charters and protecting the rights of local governing bodies to enact ordinances and procedures relating to all aspects of local government, including municipal adjudication of ordinance violations. A key factor that affects the power of the City to exercise local control over local responsibilities is the ability to rely on stable and adequate funding for desired local programs and services. The City urges the Legislature to consider the impact of state-level policy decisions on local government revenue sources. The City will support State programs designed to enhance the ability of local governments to fund services that the citizens desire or programs to assist local governments in weathering economic downturns. In the past, the Oregon Legislature has attempted to preempt Eugene's home rule authority regarding two issues exclusively specific to Eugene--the voter-approved charter amendment establishing the Toxics Right-to-Know program and the City's proposed construction of a bike path along the Willamette River. Recommendations: 1. Oppose any State action to reduce local revenues or to restrict the ability of local governments to raise additional revenues. 2. Oppose intervention in local decisions which are clearly the authority of the City under its constitutional home rule authority. B. REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS: EUGENE'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL PARTNERS The City of Eugene believes that public services and public programs are delivered in partnership with all levels of government. This partnership is based on cooperation and communication among all local governments, whether individually or through councils of governments, as well as with the State and Federal governments. To that end, the City maintains a staff presence in Salem during legislative sessions and also retains assistance in Washington, D.C. Our metropolitan area has a long tradition of inter-jurisdictional cooperation on service delivery. There are hundreds of intergovernmental agreements that control cooperative provision of services including ambulance, fire protection, emergency call-taking and dispatch, storm and City of Eugene Legislative Policies, 2005 Session 4