01/21/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e funding proposal, Eugene would receive an increase of about $750,000 in road- related revenues for FY88, which would grow to an increase of almost $3 million in FY92. He said the City currently received about $2 million per year. Mr. Smith showed needs according to jurisdictions and compared them with the proposed distribution of new revenues. He said State needs would be addressed first, and City and County needs would be addressed more after the first six years. He said needs were greatest on arterials and collectors, so most new funds would be allocated to those roads. Mr. Smith said the proposal that had emerged from the study would increase revenues by $1.12 billion over the next six years. The proposal included a light-duty vehicle title fee, an increase in registration fees from $20 biannually to $40 for light-duty vehicles, and a gradual increase in the gas tax/weight mile tax by 2~ a year over five years. He said the proposal would allow about one-half of the needs over the first six years to be met. Mr. Smith showed charts indicating that registration fees currently accounted for a small portion of revenues. He said the title fee would be an entrance charge like that in place in several other states, and he noted that most charges were higher than the 2 percent rate being proposed. He also noted that the title fee would be the only inflation-sensitive revenue in the system. e Mr. Smith said the Public Works Department could continue to work on product i vity improvements, and he noted that the department already had achieved improvements of 2 to 3 percent annually over the past 10 years. He said property taxes currently carried about 17 percent of the road-financing burden, and he said additional revenues from that source appeared unlikely, although he added that serial levies were being used by some jurisdictions. He said other sources of revenue mi ght i ncl ude development charges, 1 oca 1 option gas taxes, ,street and drainage fees. He said policy changes might be needed in the area of assessments, and the steering committee had concluded that innovative revenue sources probably would be a minor contributor. Mr. Smith noted that Eugene's operating and maintenance costs were considerably below average in comparison to other large Oregon cities, which he attributed to recent productivity gains. Ms. Schue asked whether Eugene roads were being maintained to the same standards as other cities. Mr. Smith said he felt that the basic service level was similar but was being provided more efficiently. He said some productivity gains still could be made. He said Eugene' s rate of spending for overlays ($2,200 per mile annually) probably needed to double to avoid a serious decline in the state of the system. Mr. Gleason commended Bob Hammitt for his work in achieving productivity gains. Mr. Smith said road problems in Oregon could be solved by three main steps: 1) to continue to focus on productivity gains; 2) to tolerate lower road standards; and 3) to address funding issues to avoid future crises. e Ms. Bascom asked how much road life could be extended by making repairs before deterioration accelerated. Mr. Smith said if the road was caught while still in fair condition, a structural overlay could extend the life 20 years. He added, however, that funding constraints like those at present could result in thinner overlays, which might extend road life by 8 to 12 years before further MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1987 Page 6