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Commissioner Green stated that for over 15 years Lane County had been a good partner in sharing Road <br />Fund dollars with all of the cities, with Eugene receiving the “lion’s share” of it. He noted that the City of <br />Eugene had received those funds with no strings attached, with only the stipulation that the money was to be <br />used on roads. He said while the Joint Elected Officials could draft a resolution for an exchange of funds it <br />would not be able to bind future boards or councils. <br /> <br />Commissioner Green suggested that jurisdictions take a look at the true cost of services. He felt the County <br />had been doing the “yeoman’s work” around those services. He acknowledged that the City of Eugene had <br />been a good partner in human services, but pointed out that the majority of youths held in the County-funded <br />juvenile detention facility were residents of the City of Eugene. He wanted to further discuss the systemic <br />problem of paying for the true costs of services. He believed this would be a different conversation. He <br />asked the cities to keep in mind that historically the County had “always been at the table” for Road Funds. <br />He said if it had not been for County Road Funds, the community would look different in terms of <br />development. <br /> <br />Councilor Fleenor supported the concept behind the motion on a temporary interim basis. He observed that <br />the County was at 20 percent compliance in terms of licensing. He believed that if the shelter achieved the <br />national average of 80 percent compliance it would be self-funded. He hoped an effort could be made to <br />market licensing in order to increase compliance. He agreed with Commissioner Dwyer that the Road Fund <br />money would not carry the County forward for long. <br /> <br />Mayor Leiken asked Springfield City Manager Grimaldi to comment on the motion. Mr. Grimaldi <br />responded that discussion of the motion was worthwhile. <br /> <br />Springfield City Councilor Ballew said the City of Springfield did not have a lot of money, but the council <br />was supportive of the County and appreciated that it was in “dire straits.” <br /> <br />Springfield City Councilor Ralston was willing to have the conversation, though he was not sure whether the <br />City had money it could use for such a swap. <br /> <br />Commissioner Sorenson felt this was an opportunity to get a conversation going with potential to do <br />something tangible. He underscored that any agreements made between jurisdictions would be vetted among <br />their respective elected officials. <br /> <br />Springfield City Councilor Pishioneri liked the idea. He suggested that the public safety money could be <br />applied to the inmate road crew. <br /> <br />Commissioner Dwyer commented that Councilor Pishioneri’s idea sounded good, but there were complica- <br />tions. He said the main complication was that the County’s contract with public works was such that road <br />money could not be used without their consent. <br /> <br />Commissioner Green reiterated his concern about the true cost of services. He asked the County Adminis- <br />trator to provide that data to the Commission before it approved this idea. He said until true costs had been <br />considered this move could cause more damage than good. <br /> <br />The motion passed unanimously, 16:0. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— May 13, 2008 Page 6 <br /> Lane Board of County Commissioners and Eugene and Springfield City Councils <br /> <br />