07/28/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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, , Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Whitlow said RIS was created in the late 1960's and the computer was bought by Lane County with General e Fund money. Eugene was given a 20-percent discount because the City used a very small part of the system and in recognition of the double taxation issue. He said Eugene now uses two-thirds of the RIS time and Eugene's share is increasing. RIS is now owned by equa 1 partners and Eugene participates in policy decisions. He said RIS will charge Eugene about $1.2 million this year and the discount will be about $240,000. The City's current budget includes about $800,000 for RIS and the financing agreement will provide about $825,000 income for Eugene. Answering a question from Mr. Hansen, Terry Smith of the Public Works Department said Springfield receives a 20 percent discount from RIS but Springfield has its own computer hardware and does not use RIS very much. Mr. Miller said Lane County officials favor the agreement because it provides money the County can use for things other than roads. Answering his questions, Mr. Whitlow said the Lane County Budget Committee has insisted for the last two years that the RIS discount for Eugene should be terminated. He said the money Eugene will receive from Lane County can be used for road maintenance anywhere in the city. Public Works Director Christine Andersen said the level of road maintenance in the City will not change if the agreement is approved. Answering questions from Mr. Hansen and Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Andersen said approval of the agreement wi 11 mean that Eugene wi 11 own 1 oca 1 and collector streets that are within the City but are owned by Lane County now. The maintenance of those streets thi s year wi 11 cost about e $200,000. She emphasized that no arterial streets are being transferred in the financing agreement. She said a maintenance agreement with Lane County could stipulate that the City would maintain the local and arterial streets without taking ownership of them. She said the collector streets will be upgraded by assessments. The maintenance of the streets will be covered by the funds the Ci ty will receive from the County in the agreement. She said the City does some maintenance on the local streets now as a service to City residents who live on them. Answering questions from Mr. Hansen and Ms. Wooten about the condition of the streets to be transferred and the advantage to Lane County of transferring ownership of them, Ms. Andersen said most of the streets are not up to City standards now. The City will not upgrade most of the local streets to City standards until the residents request improvements. The co 11 ectors wi 11 be upgraded sooner. She said a minimum 1 eve 1 of maintenance is more important for the City than for the County because city residents live on the streets. Mr. Whitlow said the City maintains streets at a higher level than the County and spends more per mile to maintain streets than the County does. Replying to a question from Ms. Bascom, Ms. Andersen said the financing agreement does not affect the new State road improvement program. She said a State study indicates that City and County roads are not maintained as well as State roads. e 'MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 28, 1986 Page 2