CC Minutes - 02/12/08 Joint Elected Officials

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Charlotte and the city had decided to do the patrolling and to handle the jail, as the city population was larger than that of the county. He doubted if this type of collaboration would work in this area but he set it forth as an example of people getting together to achieve a solution. He said if this was a challenge that some people were not willing to step up to, then the problems would still be here. In response to concerns expressed about the creation of another layer of bureaucracy, Commissioner Green pointed out that an ACT was just such a layer and was not required by the State. He noted that Lane County was not the only jurisdiction that did not have an ACT. He averred that they needed to determine what worked best for the area. He suggested that someone demonstrate the benefits of forming an ACT. He had talked to several other commissions on transportation around the state and believed there were plusses and minuses to such an endeavor. Councilor Lundberg cited Team Springfield, which was a joint venture by public agencies to fund bicycle patrols, as another example of cooperation for a common goal. She said as those who made all of the ordinances, the elected officials had the responsibility to come up with solutions to local issues. Aside from the transportation issues that needed to be dealt with right away, she was looking at public safety as it was a “huge issue and a huge budget issue.” She averred that the Human Services Commission (HSC) and the Housing Policy Board (HPB) could potentially focus on a set of tasks with regard to homelessness. She observed that the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) was a huge group that was sometimes cumbersome. She suggested they pull out the elected officials from that group to focus on public safety. She thought the same approach could be taken to the MPC and a focus subgroup could be formed. She added her willingness to meet quarterly. Councilor Clark recalled that he had brought the County’s “cut list” to the Eugene Budget Committee the previous year. He felt there was not a crisis of will; it was a crisis of certainty. He declared that the jurisdictions of Eugene and Springfield, and Lane County, had “some of the finest staff in the country.” He had no doubt they would come up with potential solutions if the jurisdictions would commit to working together. He thought the subcommittees should determine what service levels were expected and then ask staff to explore what it would take to get to those levels. Commissioner Sorenson reiterated the direness of the county budget situation. He suggested having the two mayors meet with Commissioner Stewart and return before the Joint Elected Officials with what they should be considering. He questioned the necessity of starting another whole process when the HSC, HPB, PSCC and other groups already existed to work on these problems. Councilor Ballew stressed that they did not have limitless time nor did they have limitless staff. She underscored the need to work on what they could do, e.g. the work resulting from the passage of HB 3337. She acknowledged that the County’s financial crisis would affect everyone. She suggested that they ask staff to return with the impacts of the crisis on their jurisdictions. Councilor Wylie thought they could work on some of the issues. She commented that if there was another school shooting, or someone shot on the street in Eugene, or rabid dogs attacking children, citizens would come to their elected officials asking what they had done to plan for this day. She said the County’s crisis was coming. Mayor Piercy surmised that they needed an emergency plan in order to get through a potentially difficult time. MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— February 12, 2008 Page 7 Lane Board of County Commissioners and Eugene and Springfield City Councils