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. I know we are all eager to see the jobs that our economic diversification efforts will eventually bring. To reach that goal, we will have to continue our step-by-step progress in 1983. 1983 is also a year in which we face some tough financial decisions about Eugene's future. Over the past three years, the Eugene Plan has enabled us to finance local government without making service cuts that threatened the basic welfare of our community. It gave us some stability as we started the 1980s. But the Eugene Plan will be in its last year beginning July 1. We now need another innovative idea to carry Eugene through the remainder of the decade. We need a new financial plan that will allow us to provide the basic public services, such as police and fire protection and streets and sewers, that are essential not only to our citizens but to Eugene's ability to attract new business. We also need a plan that will preserve Eugene's livability--its parks, library, and other amenities that help make Eugene Eugene. Yet it must also be a plan that Eugeneans will support. e Our financial forecast shows that, to continue current City services, our revenues are roughly $3 million short each year for the remainder of this decade. And our Capital Improvement Program will also have to be dealt with in the future. To address this problem, the City Council last July formed the Financial Planning Committee to look at the City's long-range financial picture. The committee, and the entire council, will have some difficult decisions to make this year. It became obvious last fall, after the narrow defeat of Ballot Measure 3, the property tax limitation measure, that Oregonians believe property taxes are high enough. So our Financial Planning Committee, and also the Oregon Legislature, must find a way of financing public services that is acceptable to Oregonians. That is why the Eugene City' Council and the LeaguelDf Oregon Cities have asked the State Legislature to review the sales tax as a means of offsetting the property tax or income tax. And as the legislature considers how to adjust Oregon's tax system, we will play an active role. But regardless of what happens in Salem, we in Eugene must find a way to chart a steady financial course for the remainder of the 80s. There were some other achievements in 1982 that I would like to note tonight, if only briefly: We worked with EWEB, the City of Springfield, and Lane County on a number of projects. Together with Springfield, we operated an effective, efficient ambulance service. We worked with both Springfield and Lane County toward the completion of our new Metropolitan Wastewater Plant. And we also worked with EWEB to resolve the 8th and High property transfer, water main charges, and co-generated power revenues. I am pleased to report that preliminary figures show that major crimes decreased over 13 percent in 1982. This continues a trend that started in 1981, despite the fact that the City has trimmed Police resources as well as other services and that economic and unemployment problems continue to exist. The Police Department has been able to reinforce its crime prevention efforts by calling upon neighborhood resources to help reduce crime vulnerability and it will continue those efforts this year. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 1983 Page 5