08/07/1985 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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IV. FEDERAL LIAISON PROGRAM (memo attached; background information . distributed) City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the agenda item. Elizabeth Cherry of Intergovernmental Relations presented the staff report, stating that the report was requested by the Legislative Subcommittee. She said the minutes of the last subcommittee meeting and the additional information as requested were included in the council packets. Ms. Cherry said the propo- sal was at the request of the Mayor and other members of the subcommittee who have visited Washington, D.C., and who wished to improve the relation- ship between Eugene and its Federal representatives. She said it was nec- essary to search for General Fund relief due to the demands being placed on the City by the Eugene Agenda and that a Federal lobbyist would be a more sophisticated approach to the Federal grant process. Ms. Cherry said she believed that material distributed addressed the issues to be discussed. She provided several brief descriptions of situations where lobbyists were able to influence funding requests. Based on a survey of other cities, she said the cost of a lobbyist could be expected to be less than one-half of one percent of the return. Referring to a chart, Ms. Cherry reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of applications received by the Ci ty . She said staff felt that an investment of $35,000-40,000 would enable the City to initiate the program on a trial basis. Mayor Obie stated that he had discussed the issue with other councilors and individuals outside the City. He fel t tha t Eugene shoul d have its own representative in Washington, D.C., so that the city will be viewed as a e major city in the country. He said that a lobbyist for Eugene would be able to focus efforts on the projects proposed for Eugene such as the air- port expansion, the high-energy accelerator for the University, the River- front Research Project, and several transportation projects. Councilor Holmer said he recognized the good intentions of those supporting the lobbyist proposal, but he did not feel the proposal was a realistic appraisal of Washington activities. Drawing on his own experiences, he did not believe that a part-time person could dramatically affect Federal fund- ing of Eugene projects. He stressed that any presence in Washington must define the specific needs of Eugene. He said the staff and department man- agers should be aware of any funding sources and Washington activities through their membership in national associations. He said that staff or councilors would have to travel to Washington to get the most benefit from a lobbyist; he suggested that funds be allocated for their travel rather than for a lobbyist. He also felt that the initial allocation of $35,000-40,000 would be only a down payment for any lobbying effort. Councilor Ehrman said the Legislative Subcommittee had discussed the propo- sal, which was opposed by a minority vote. However, she said the remaining three members had reached consensus supporting Option 3 for municipal rep- resenta ti on. She suggested that the City suppport a two-year experimental program which could be evaluated after that period, stating that some pro- gress should be seen during the second year. Recognizing Mr. Holmer's com- ments, she suggested that the City Manager could study the City's represen- e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 7, 1985 Pa ge 6