CC Minutes - 02/12/08 Joint Elected Officials

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Commissioner Sorenson supported working collaboratively on mutual issues. He declared that to say that Lane County was in a difficult position was an understatement. He stated that the community at large would be significantly affected if the budget currently under consideration came to pass as of July 1, 2008. He listed some of the cuts, which include a reduction in the number of Lane County Jail beds to 12, elimination of the Lane County Public Health Department, and virtually eliminating the Department of Youth Services. He underscored that this was not a budget that one commissioner championed, but rather was a joint decision of the whole Board, made under dire circumstances. He reiterated that to say the community was facing a significant impact of the proposed budget was a “complete understatement.” He felt that the elected officials would look back on the current meeting and ask themselves what they did in anticipation of July 1, 2008. He wanted to get the conversation on to the “harsh reality.” He said the County needed the help of the city jurisdictions to ameliorate the impacts of the coming budget on their respective constituents. Springfield Councilor Lundberg agreed there were some issues that overlapped more than others, and cited the need for Metro Plan amendments as one of them. She thought it would need immediate attention because it would take a while. Councilor Lundberg agreed with Commissioner Sorenson that the County was faced with the most challenging scenario of the three jurisdictions. She said special districts could be a remedy. She was uncertain what they would be or how they would look at this point. She indicated she would prioritize special districts and TransPlan and Metro Plan changes as they were things that could be worked on jointly. Eugene Councilor Ortiz said her challenge lay in that she did not want to discuss special districts without going to the voters. She underscored that this was not because she did not believe it to be a good idea. She expressed appreciation for the joint meeting and agreed that the jurisdictions should meet more often. Councilor Ortiz agreed that the Metro Plan issues needed to be addressed and that there were issues of public safety that should be discussed. Councilor Ortiz also wanted the communities to work on being more inclusive. She said the jurisdictions should encourage communities of color to be more involved. Commissioner Green said when the urban transition agreement was developed 20-plus years ago it had been a useful tool to help guide cooperation and partnerships throughout the region. He thought it merited revisiting but he did not believe this could happen without revising the Metro Plan agreements, especially in regard to the provision of services. He pointed out that the County was the designated provider of services to residents who live outside the city limits. He stated that the question was how to fund the services, adding that if the services were not provided through a special district then what should be the medium for service provision? Commissioner Green felt there was a need for a body that was dedicated to coming up with resolutions. He opined that there were “enough bodies coming up with conflicts.” He asked how they could “get to yes.” He noted that the MPC had once been seen as the body. He wanted to create an independent body consisting of citizens and elected officials that would work toward agreements. Eugene City Councilor Poling likened narrowing the list of priorities to trying to choose which child was the “favorite child.” He said public safety was important to him. He believed the whole public safety system was on the verge of “absolute failure.” MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— February 12, 2008 Page 3 Lane Board of County Commissioners and Eugene and Springfield City Councils