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<br />, <br /> <br />~.~ <br />1- _ \ <br /> <br />,~ <br />e <br /> <br />M I NUT E S <br /> <br />Eugene City Council <br />City Council Chamber <br /> <br />January 9, 1984 <br />7 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Emily Schue, John Ball, Dick Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Betty <br />Smith, and Cynthia Wooten. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS ABSENT: Brian Obie. <br /> <br />The regul ar meeti ng of the Ci ty Council of the City of Eugene,Oregon, was call ed <br />to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller. <br /> <br />I. ELECTION OF COUNCIL OFFICERS <br /> <br />Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to nominate Brian.Obie as <br />President and Cynthia Wooten as Vice-President of the Eugene City <br />Council. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 6:0. <br /> <br />II. MAYOR'S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS <br /> <br />Mayor Keller thanked Ms. Schue for her work as the council president and for <br />those occasions when she filled in for the Mayor in his absence. The following <br />is the text of Mayor Keller1s address: <br /> <br />,.. <br /> <br />Welcome to this first meeting of the Eugene City Council in 1984. This is the <br />occasion of the Mayor's annual State of the City address, as called for by City <br />Charter. <br /> <br />Thus far, the 1980s have been a time of financial strain for business, individ- <br />uals, and State local government. As we begin 1984, we are, for the first time <br />this decade, hearing some optimistic economic forecasts for the year ahead. . <br />That is good news! But here in Eugene, we are still frustrated by the precarious <br />financial footing on which this city and all of Oregon's municipal governments <br />are balancing. <br /> <br />When I began my first term as Mayor in 1977, I expressed great concern about <br />local government's financial stability. We, in Eugene, were fortunate that <br />voters approved the "Eugene Plan" which provided prudent increases in our tax <br />levy over the last four years. Although cutbacks have been necessary, we have <br />been spared the crisis that many other cities and school districts faced these <br />past few years. <br /> <br />But Oregon's taxpayers have said that property taxes are too high. Therefore, <br />we need to rely less on the property tax as a means of financing schools and' <br />local government, and find a new financing mechanism. This is a statewide <br />problem, and it needs a statewide solution. We were encouraged that the legis- <br />lature seemed at last determined to face the issue in 1983. The Council's <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council <br /> <br />January 9, 1983 <br /> <br />Page 1 <br />