02/03/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Ms. Wooten suggested a combination of service reductions, user fees that are appropriate and acceptable, and new revenue sources. Ms. Bascom agreed and added that pay cuts should be considered as well. Mr. Rutan said that the council must keep in mind the public's perception of the cost of government and how much they will be willing to pay for government services. Mr. Hansen suggested that rather than finding new revenue, the council concentrate on what kinds of cuts can be made based on the assumption that money is not available to pay for all services. Mr. Rutan agreed that substantial cuts will be necessary and asked for the responses of the councilors. Mr. Obie asked for comments. Ms. Wooten said that she was not ready to make wholesale service reductions without exploring avenues of generating revenue; she is also unwilling to raise user fees for those least able to afford them. Ms. Ehrman suggested across-the-board wage cuts instead of service cuts in order to establish credibility in the community. She is willing to look at some increase in user fees and implementation of new fees but is cautious about the communi ty perception of those fees. In this priority order, Mr. Hansen would: balance the budget; increase the CIP to the level at which it is funded now; eliminate programs in order to get to a balanced budget; and then seek implementation of new programs if there is available revenue. Ms. Ehrman agreed and said council should cut programs if necessary to fund the CIP and that the CIP should be funded with resources we currently have. Ms. Bascom suggested looking at the kinds of user fees that make sense and are acceptable, then cut programs the council can agree upon. Mr. Miller agreed that the CIP needs to be raised higher than the bare mlnlmum and that a combination of user fees and service reductions should be explored. He is not in favor of salary reductions, but a salary freeze could be consi dered. Ms. Schue agreed that the CIP should be maintained. She favors maintenance as a first priority, with new construction occurring if funding is available. She supported generating new revenue where possible. Mr. Rutan asked that the council live up to the challenge of not being able to count on user fees and creative financing. He said council will need to consider a combination of all the options being discussed. Ms. Wooten would rather backfill numbers through a variety of means to get to a balanced budget. She objected to the process described by Mr. Hansen. Mr. Obie added that he doesn't agree philosophically with the way Federal spending reductions are being accomplished but does believe that government at the Federal level is too large and needs to be reduced. The City will face increasing cuts in Federal funds. The cuts will be serious and beyond just a percentage across the board. Ms. Wooten's comments about the Eugene Agenda MINUTES--City Council Work Session February 3, 1986 Page 3