Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Ruiz clarified with Mr. Pryor that his reference to filling the human services gap related to Eugene and not County-wide. Ms. Taylor agreed with Ms. Bettman’s suggestion for an exchange of funds to provide the City money for road repairs. She stated it was difficult to discuss making up for the County’s budget deficits when the council had no knowledge of how the County made its budget decisions. Ms. Ortiz supported funding for law enforcement and stressed the importance of dealing with drug addiction, which was the source of many crimes, through treatment and rehabilitation programs, not just enforcement. She said programs that helped people become responsible members of society were an essential part of the public safety system. Mr. Zelenka expressed dismay that the County’s budget crisis had gotten to the point of dismantling the public safety system. He noted that there were many items not included on the list of services to be restored, such as services to veterans, high risk pregnant women, infants and children and mental health services, parole and probation, alcohol and drug treatment, alternative corrections programs and many others. He hoped the public appreciated that it was a crisis situation. He was concerned with using City reserves to provide one-time temporary funding. He was intrigued by the ideas of a County levy to fund human services and the City assuming responsibility for the jail. He asked how the City could provide animal control services within the existing budget. Mr. Carlson explained that the City would probably concentrate on the regulatory and dangerous dog aspects and work with community partners on adoption activities. Mr. Zelenka agreed with Mr. Pryor that if a new City Hall was not built the Facility Reserve should be used to make the current building safe and secure. Chief Lehner explained that the County was forced to make substantial cuts to public safety because a majority of its General Fund was allocated to public safety and a substantial cut to the General Fund had a disproportionate affect on public safety services. He agreed with the need for a discussion of long-term solutions, but reminded the council that such a conversation would take some time and on July 1 there would be a genuine crisis if there was no short-term remedy. He viewed one-time funding as a bridge to get to a long-term solution, not merely a bandage on the problem. He said on July 1 the County’s problem would be Eugene’s problem. Regarding the Springfield jail, Chief Lehner said it was designed to be a low-risk facility that lodged low- level misdemeanants who did not have medical or mental health issues, were not mentally unstable or violent or presently addicted. He said such a facility would not address the problems facing Eugene and he was not certain that the City could operate the jail more efficiently or effectively than the County. He agreed with the need for treatment programs, but enforcement and prosecution were necessary to get people into those programs. He said based on the interest expressed by the community, animal control represented a remarkable opportunity for a private/public partnership. Ms. Piercy commented that the City could not tell other jurisdictions how to determine their financial priorities, but the current situation provided an opportunity to collaborate on how to provide services. She liked the concept of providing bridge funding while long-terms solutions were sought with State and regional partners. Ms. Bettman said it was important to address issues of cross-subsidy, equity and priorities and any proposal that the city manager presented to the Budget Committee should be factored into projections for the General Fund deficit. She thought it was irresponsible to take tax money or rates paid by Eugene residents to MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 12, 2008 Page 6 Work Session