04/22/1992 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e said it appeared that the County was going to take the property tax rate for general purpose government to the $10 cap, and it was important to test the community's willingness to go to the cap. The council agreed to include a property tax increase as proposed by Mr. Miller in Strategy Package B. Returning to the restaurant tax previously proposed by Mr. Boles, Ms. Ehrman asked how much such a tax would raise. Mr. Boles said that the tax would pay for the library in four years and operate it for ten years. Ms. Ehrman indicated her support for inclusion of the proposed restaurant tax in Strategy Package B if it had no ties to the Hult Center. Mr. Rutan strongly opposed a restaurant tax. He said that the council would not meet its goals through single-purpose, narrowly focused taxes. Eugene would be the only community in Oregon with a restaurant tax. Mr. Rutan said that the restaurant industry would be opposed to such a tax. He spoke of the diversity of businesses in the community providing restaurant services, and called the proposed tax unwise, politically unfeasible, and unfair to low-income residents. In response to Mr. Rutan's comments, Mr. Boles asked how the community could capture dollars from those visiting the community. He said that while one of four visitors to Eugene stays in a motel or hotel, the other three stay in private homes and do not pay room taxes. He pointed out that dining in restaurants was a generally discretionary expenditure. Mr. Boles suggested that the proposed tax was a progressive way to attach a revenue source to an amenity the community supports. Ms. Ehrman endorsed Mr. Boles' comments. She said that a restaurant tax would capture money from such residents as students, who did not contribute to the community outside of rents that contributed to the property tax base. Ms. Ehrman did not believe that a restaurant tax was unfair to low-income residents. Mr. Robinette did not want to put the community at an economic disadvantage through the proposed tax. He questioned the link between the library and a restaurant tax. Responding to concerns raised by Ms. Ehrman and Ms. Bascom about the use of a restaurant tax to support Hult Center operations as previously suggested by Mr. Boles, Mr. Boles said that he did not believe that citizens were opposed to the Hult Center but rather to the General Fund moneys spent on the center. In response to Mr. Robinette's question regarding the connection between the tax and the library, Mr. Boles said he perceived the tax as a way to provide the community with an amenity it wants. He said that the tax was discretionary and based upon the ability to pay. Mr. Nicholson said he was interested in supporting a tax that also addressed other discretionary expenditures, such as video rentals and movie tickets. MINUTES--Eugene City Council 5:30 p.m. April 22, 1992 Page 6