Laserfiche WebLink
<br />M I N U T E S <br /> <br /> <br />Eugene City Council <br />Work Session <br />Council Chamber <br /> <br /> August 8, 2007 <br /> Noon <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer <br />Solomon, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. <br /> <br /> <br />Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She convened an <br />executive session pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(f) and ORS 192.660(2)(h) to deliberate with designated staff <br />to consider information or records that were exempt by law from public inspection, and for consultation with <br />counsel concerning legal rights and duties regarding current litigation or litigation likely to be filed. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy convened an open work session in order for the City Council to take action on items discussed <br />in the executive session. <br /> <br /> <br />A. WORK SESSION: Options for Response to the Gas Tax Referendum <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to direct the City Manager to withdraw <br />the City's appeal regarding the gas tax. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman indicated she was in favor of not pursuing an appeal, as there was little to be gained from a <br />public benefit perspective. She wanted to move forward with an ordinance to clarify code language <br />regarding write-in candidates. She was also in favor of sending a written request to the Lane County <br />Elections Office asking that ballots for write-in candidates be retained for a long enough period of time to <br />provide documentation for signature-gathering predicated on those write-in votes. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark said he supported the motion as the public had spoken clearly about its wish to have a say in the <br />matter at the ballot box, regardless of whether the City prevailed in court. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling said he intended to support the motion. He noted the issue related to a court ruling based on a <br />definition that was not clear and future problems would be avoided by revising the code language. He <br />pointed out that the City Recorder did not create the problem; it was based on State and County regulations <br />regarding voting records and the courts interpretation of the City's code language. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor agreed it was important to recognize that the City was following the Oregon Administrative Rules <br />as it had been for the past 30 years and instead of spending taxpayer dollars on a legal appeal, the City <br />would simply clarify the code language. He noted the gas tax was part of a larger package of solutions to <br />the transportation funding problem. He said that the $.03 tax increase would not begin to address the $170 <br />million backlog of projects and other measures would be required as well. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2007 Page 1 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />