Item B: City Response to Lane County Budget Crisis

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Given the City’s own financial situation, staff does not recommend taking on new services on an on- going basis at this time. In addition, the City should not take any action that might harm the County’s ability to address their structural deficit. For instance, if the County decides to go out for a revenue measure for some of the high-priority public safety services, it would be important for those services to be provided by the County rather than the City. It might be appropriate, however, to look at funding some of the highest priority services to Eugene on a one-time basis while alternative service provision models are examined with other community and governmental partners. If council decides to fund some of these services on a one-time basis, there are two places that council could look for funding of those services. Attachment C includes a summary of those potential funding sources. First would be to reexamine the service level changes in the FY09 Proposed Budget. The City Manager does not recommend this approach, however, because only a very few strategic programs were added on an on-going basis and those programs largely respond to Council Goals and other important service needs. The other potential one-time funding source would be City reserves. Attachment B includes an updated summary of the information presented to the Budget Committee in February. The reserves that have an actual balance above the target level are highlighted in the summary sheet. If council decides to use telecommunications fund reserves, those reserves should be used to fund telecommunications related projects, to the extent possible. If OPEB (Other Post-Retirement Benefit) reserves are considered for funding one-time services, it is recommended that a minimum of $1.6 million be retained in the reserve so that the City can pay its “Annual Required Contribution” (or ARC) for FY09. Long-Term Human Investment Collaboration In addition to the immediate need for Eugene-only services, the long-term provision of human services must be reexamined, and perhaps restructured. One possibility is the creation of a coalition of public, private and non-profit stakeholders to develop strategies for the provision of human services. An emphasis would be placed on the full continuum of prevention, intervention and suppression. The human investment collaboration could operate under the following principles: ·Stewardship – achieve the greatest, long-term benefit for the community as a whole. ·Boundary Crossing – create an inclusive, cohesive community. ·Commitment to Outcomes – take responsibility for tasks and achieving specified outcomes. ·“Art of the Possible” Thinking – anything is possible in the region. ·Fact-Based Decision Making – base decisions and action plans on objective data, thereby avoiding distortion of issues by personal feelings or agendas. ·Power Parity – recognize that there are diverse viewpoints. Positional power will not determine a strategy or preferred outcome, merit will. RELATED CITY POLICIES The council’s vision statements of Safe Community: Where people feel safe, valued and welcomed, and Effective Accountable Municipal Government directly relate to the City’s ability to maintain public safety in the wake of Lane County’s budget reductions. The potential for increasing victimization of the general community and of homeless and vulnerable community members through increased criminal activity will Y:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080512\S080512B.doc