Laserfiche WebLink
Yes, there was a discussion and recognition that some services are necessary and <br />compelled by statute, while others are not mandated but are appropriate for the district. <br />It was felt that the non-statutory services are equally important and should not be <br />excluded from the district. <br /> <br />14. Ifa city opts out of the proposed district, do the citizens of the city get to vote on the <br />proposed district? (Woodrow) <br /> <br />No. The district boundary would be drawn to exclude the city. Only citizens within the <br />district would be eligible to vote on the district formation. <br /> <br />15. If there is a countywide vote, but some cities opt out, isn't the County still mandated <br />by statute to provide the public safety services? (Bettman) <br /> <br />It depends on the service and the resources available. There are mandates in Oregon <br />law. Few of those mandates define the required level of service. Currently the District <br />Attorney's office is processing drug crimes as violations, which may be prosecuted as <br />felonies in other parts of the state. Citizens within the area excluded from the district <br />would receive some level of services funded by the County. <br /> <br />The public safety district is being proposed because stability is needed in the system that <br />serves cities and unincorporated areas. If cities opt out the solution is weakened. That is <br />why Lane County would like to work with cities to find common ground on the ultimate <br />composition of the proposed district. <br /> <br />16. Why did Lane County decide to do the Metro Plan amendment first, before going to <br />the 10 small cities to get their support first? (Bettman) <br /> <br />Only the Metro Plan has the potential to preclude any further conversations. The next <br />step would be to go to the cities. <br /> <br />17. Could there be a defacto shifting of funding if one community got into compression <br />and the full funding responsibility wasn't able to be put on that community, and would <br />that responsibility shift to other communities that weren't experiencing compression? <br />(Pape) <br /> <br />The way compression works is as follows: Ifa property is at compression, no additional <br />taxes are collected. This would reduce the tax collection. There is no shifting of the <br />financial responsibility from one jurisdiction to another to make up the difference. <br />Compression is localized to a geographic tax code area with a specific mix of taxing <br />districts. Reduction in funding occurs on a proportional basis among all districts in that <br />area and no shifting occurs within the property tax. <br /> <br />18. What ideas does the County have to address the effect of compression for Eugene that <br />would mitigate the $6.3 million per year? (Kelly) <br /> <br /> Page 5 of 10 <br /> <br /> <br />