09/16/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Gleason said that potential cost savings associated with freezing wages has not been included because this is not a sustainable strategy. Ms. Bascom agreed with Ms. Ehrman that the public is frustrated that there will be no way to get at City personnel costs. She said that she is concerned that the end result of this process will be to eliminate any service that gives some vitality to the City. Under reduction strategy 2, Mr. Green asked what it meant to close Fire Sta- tion 7. In response, Dave Whitlow, Department of Public Safety, said that when evaluating the present system of fire stations, Station 7 would be the most logical station to close because of its relative proximity to several other stations and because it is a satellite station, not a master station. The council agreed that in order to eliminate any unnecessary public concern it would change "close Station 7" to "close a satellite fire station." (At 7:10 p.m., the council took a IS-minute break.) B. Maintenance Strategies Ms. Ehrman asked for an explanation of the "library fee" contemplated in maintenance strategy 1. Mr. Gleason explained that under this fee, a book could be checked out at no cost for three days. After the third day, a fee would be assessed for each day the book is not returned. The fee is designed to earn revenue for the library while at the same time recognize the need to offer a basic level of service at no cost to low-income persons. e Ms. Ehrman voiced concern that the effect of this fine would be to narrow the potential list of library users and significantly increase the number of library books that are not returned. She said she would rather pay more money for a library card than be limited in the number of days that she could use the book. The council agreed on the need to explain the fire service availability fee, potential recreation fees, and the library fee. It also indicated its skep- ticism about the possibility of generating $500,000 in revenue from the li- brary fee, as described, and asked staff to revise the amount of potential revenue to a more realistic number. The council agreed that it would remove the cat licensing fee from the list of potential user fees. It agreed that the list of potential user fees that has been provided by staff would be attached to the maintenance strategies. Responding to a question, Mr. Whitlow said that fire redeployment has not been funded out of the Public Safety Long-Range Plan. The council agreed that it should explain to the public that the council would not be able to proceed with council-adopted goals, such as the creation of a new library or fire redeployment, if a service maintenance strategy is adopted. Ms. Bascom suggested that the City find a way to tap bicycles as a potential source of income. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 16, 1991 Page 4 Dinner Meeting