CC Minutes - 11/21/07 Work Session

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Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to direct the City Manager to bring back to a council work session in early 2008 a refined proposal for a street utility fee and street and bicycle path lighting fee for discussion. Ms. Ortiz said much work had been done and she was unwilling to start over, but agreed it was not wise to discuss implementing a new tax so soon after the voters had defeated the gas tax. She was willing to have further discussions on options, although she did not want to see General Fund resources used for streets. Mr. Zelenka hoped it was implicit in the motion that the council would not take any action on the fees until after the levy vote. He said the council would continue to work through the package of subcommittee recommendations. He supported working with other jurisdictions toward a countywide gas tax. He said that any new taxes should be simple and straightforward. He understood the "opt out" provision would apply to areas without street lighting. Mr. Clark said he would support the motion. He suggested polling the public during the City's next survey to determine what percentage of the General Fund budget people perceived was used for street maintenance. He felt that many people thought the General Fund was already used for streets and he supported looking at that option. Ms. Bettman asked for a list of the departments that contributed to the facility reserve, along with an estimate of the percentage contributed by each department. Ms. Taylor stated she would vote for the motion, but did not support either fee. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. The meeting adjourned at 1:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 21, 2007 Page 6 Work Session