04/22/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e suggestions for "doing things differently" and user fees might be a $6 million reduction rather than an $8 million reduction. e Mr. Nicholson said that it was important to bring the community along in the process. He maintained that the council was not putting the information in a sufficiently broad context. He said that the community will have to see concrete evidence of how other concerns such as salaries and efficiency are being addressed. If people do not see that information, they will believe they are being given a false alternative. Mr. Robinette said that information would be provided in the tabloid. Mr. MacDonald suggested that the tabloid include a section that outlines the concerns the council heard from the citizens regarding administrative efficiency and employee salaries and how the council is responding to those concerns. He said that the tabloid should also refer to the Chamber of Commerce report regarding compensation. Mr. Nicholson said that the tabloid should also discuss the expected public input process for those issues. Mr. Boles said that the council should recognize that it is sending a difficult message for the community to respond to. None of the alternatives are good news for the electorate. He referred to public anger and dissatisfaction with different levels of government, and forewarned the council to be prepared for that response. Mr. Gleason said that he would like to continue to have the Chamber of Commerce involved in the ongoing discussions about compensation and benefits. He said that the issue is complex and requires accurate analysis and objectivity. He said that the chamber has indicated interest in continued participation. The council indicated its approval of adding a Strategy C as proposed by Mr. Boles and modified by Mr. Gleason. Ms. Bellamy distributed copies of a handout listing excluded strategies. The council reviewed the components of Strategy B to ensure it reflected the previously identified theme. John O'Connor, City Manager's Office, served as facilitator for the review. The council conducted straw polls to indicate support for inclusion of each component. Subsequently, the council deleted the following components: 140 (reduce General Fund support for animal control), 144A, 154 (recover 40 percent of full costs for swimming pools by instituting incremental fee increases), 136 (reduce General Fund support for landscaping/park trees/Hendricks Park by $200,000), 114 (reduce Transient Room Tax support for Sister Cities Program, privatize program). Responding to a question from Mr. Green, Mr. Farkas said that there had been discussion with the County regarding the possibility of consolidating plan checking and building permit activities. The council requested more information about the impact of implementing strategy component 108 {reduce General Fund support by increasing base rental e MINUTES--Eugene City Council 11:30 a.m. April 22, 1992 Page 4