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In response to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Mr. Klein stated that ultimately financing would be the <br />council’s call. He said if the spending limit passed the council would decide how much of it to spend on the <br />downtown project and the council had the option of spending it on other projects. He stressed that no one’s <br />taxes would be raised simply because of this project; in order to raise taxes the council would be required to <br />place a measure on the ballot, such as a levy. He added that money could be used from the General Fund <br />but it would not increase taxes. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka declared his intention to “stick to that amount of money.” He felt that no downtown projects <br />would go forward without subsidies. He remarked that there was “no magic dust to sprinkle on downtown <br />to have redevelopment happen within the City without city investment.” He said redevelopment had not <br />happened on its own in 20 years and he was mystified by people who thought it would. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor did not agree that the developer would pay for the project through property taxes. She opined <br />that the council did not know whether the development would succeed. She thought services might have to <br />be reduced or property taxes would have to be increased. She averred that if money was diverted from other <br />places it may indirectly raise taxes. She added that no one had discussed compression, which she believed to <br />be a possibility. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to extend the discussion by two minutes. The <br />vote was a tie, 4:4; Mr. Zelenka, Ms. Bettman, Ms. Ortiz, and Ms. Taylor voting in favor <br />and Mr. Pryor, Ms. Solomon, Mr. Poling, and Ms. Clark voting in opposition. Mayor <br />Piercy voted for the motion and the motion passed. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, Senior Development Analyst for PDD, Denny Braud stated <br />that any information on whether property taxes would increase would have to come from finance division <br />staff. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman thought the council had received a memorandum that indicated that raising the urban renewal <br />debt limit could in some cases raise taxes. <br /> <br />Mr. Klein stated that the council had received a number of memoranda from Financial Analysis Manager, <br />Sue Cutsogeorge, and he was uncertain which one contained the information Ms. Bettman was seeking. He <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />