CC Minutes - 05/22/06 Work Session

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Ms. Bettman said the decision to cut services if the levy failed was one the council would make and she noted that the City Manager’s proposed budget included $5 million in additions and the Budget Committee had recommended another $2.7 million in one-time or ongoing funding. She asked how the voters would react to a request for $4.3 million per year for the next four years to fund the library, which was an ongoing General Fund service, when the budget was used for all the other things that were added or increased. She thought the voters would say no. She thought it was disingenuous to suggest this was the last levy, noting that if the library could not be incorporated during a healthy budget cycle there was little chance it ever could it be. Mr. Papé agreed with Ms. Ortiz’s concerns and he felt that branch libraries were sacred. He agreed it was necessary to move library services into the budget but did not think there was the discipline to do that if the levy remained at the same level each year. City Manager Taylor said he had taken to heart comments from both the Budget Committee and the council, but the bottom line was the need to address issues such as police staffing shortages and other recommenda- tions in the Police Strategic Plan adopted by the council, the council priorities for homelessness, neighbor- hoods and cultural services policy review, and the potential impact of a decision not to pursue a school levy, all of which could require decisions about reducing the level and mix of services across the entire General Fund or pursuing other sources of revenue. He preferred to face those tasks without the constraints imposed by recommending to the voters a levy lower than the current level for the library. Mr. Kelly objected to Mayor Piercy calling on staff ahead of councilors and allowing them to express an opinion or “lobby” the council. He asked why staff had not presented an alternative to Ms. Bettman’s motion to accomplish the same goal. City Manager Taylor said the level of cuts required to implement Ms. Bettman’s motion could not be accomplished in the two-week period since the suggestion was made at a Budget Committee meeting. He said it would take some time and effort to develop the type of plan he knew the council would want to consider and implement over the next several years. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Papé’s comments, particularly regarding branch libraries, and felt that library operations could be brought into the General Fund with a combination of Budget Committee, staff, and council creativity and the potential of exploring a revamped revenue structure. He would support the amendment. Responding to Mr. Kelly’s comment, Mayor Piercy said she wanted to hear the City’s Manager’s best judgment in response to any of the actions the council was considering, as that was an important part of the discussion as far as she was concerned. Mr. Papé asked if the City could bond for an endowment fund for the library. Ms. Cutsogeorge replied that the City could not borrow money to put it in the bank and earn interest to use for operations. Ms. Bettman commented that if anything was cut from the budget it should be the additions and enhance- ments instead of ongoing services. She said any cuts would come before the council and she was not interested in cutting any library services. She noted that there were several other reserve accounts in addition to the Reserve for Revenue Shortfall that could help transition the library into the General Fund. She said her amendment proposed a 25 percent reduction per year over the four years of the levy. The motion to amend the resolution passed, 6:2; Mr. Pryor and Ms. Solomon voting in op- position. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 22, 2006 Page 9 Work Session