CC Minutes - 05/13/08 Joint Elected Officials

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Councilor Wylie stated that she represented Springfield on the PSCC. She indicated her willingness to work within that body or to serve on another body. She was interested in how they could improve the economy of scale and location. She felt the police representative and sheriff had been thinking about these issues for a long time. She thought they should allow them to brainstorm as the time had come to be visionary. She averred that they needed to move “some of the turf stuff” out and start thinking about the citizenry. Councilor Clark concurred. He was not sure he would support a special district, but he admired what the fire chiefs had done. He thought it could serve as a model of cooperative agreements cross-jurisdictionally. He supported looking into the more creative agreements that produced economies of scale. He did not believe, however, that economies of scale would get them there. He differed with Councilor Bettman as he would congratulate the City of Springfield for having the “wisdom to look long-term” and expand the tax base. He proposed they look at cooperative regional approaches to expansion of the tax base. Springfield City Councilor Woodrow supported the idea of the police chiefs, sheriff, and DA working together. He believed this would be beneficial in the long run. Commissioner Green was not certain he would support another work group. He believed the citizens wanted the elected officials to be more united in whatever they did. He declared that they had a working group and it was at the table. He suggested that they might want to invite the police chiefs, fire chiefs, DA, and county assessor to join them. He said he was willing to meet and have a discussion as often as was necessary, but citizens wanted them to come up solutions upon which they could agree. He stressed that they all served the same constituency and it was incumbent upon the elected officials to provide services in a meaningful way. He said when it came to roads and public safety, the people really did not care whose street it was, they wanted the road fixed or they wanted someone to show up when they had been victimized. Councilor Ballew observed that the fire agencies had been a good model of how jurisdictions could function together. She noted that all of the deputies had to spend time at the Lane County Jail and suggested that police officers from Eugene and Springfield could work shifts there. She thought that would increase the hours people were available to work at the jail and it would provide the benefit of training for new officers on how to deal with criminals. Commissioner Fleenor recalled that there was a saying that one should not “waste a perfectly good crisis.” He said the law enforcement system had to be the right size from “start to finish.” He averred that they needed a countywide solution. He supported establishment of a task force to look at public safety, crime, and justice. He acknowledged that the citizens had voted down 13 bond measures and suggested that they incorporate more citizen involvement. Councilor Pishioneri agreed with Commissioner Green and Councilor Clark. He did not think they needed to form a group other than the one that was present. He found it interesting that they were only just now feeling a sense of urgency. He stressed that it would be up to the elected officials present to take action, adding that he would not want to pass on such a dire situation to future councils and commissions. He emphasized that the County was very close to a state of emergency. Councilor Zelenka agreed with concerns expressed around the formation of a special district. He said the issue the County was facing stemmed from the fact it was receiving less money from the federal government. He felt the choice was whether to provide less service or to create more revenue. He thought it was incumbent on this group to come up with ideas for which the electorate would vote. MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— May 13, 2008 Page 9 Lane Board of County Commissioners and Eugene and Springfield City Councils