08/13/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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~- e ments identified thus far in the process. Ms. Bascom raised the cost associ- ated with community policing and requested council discussion of the accuracy of the figure. Mr. Robinette said that the $2.15 million identified for the program was for the first year of operation. Mr. Miller added that the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) had indicated that the cost was the minimum amount needed. Ms. Bascom said there was a philosophical disagreement about the way a community is made more safe: through additional police services, or through the types of amenities such as those cut by the council: human services and a library. Ms. Bascom said the council is taking the former direction. Mr. Miller pointed out that the component reflected the direction of the council-adopted long-range plan. He said the council needed to act before it was too late. Community policing takes time to implement. Mr. Miller said that the service was not a luxury. Ms. Bascom said the council had made a tentative decision to include the component. She continued to question the component cost. The council discussed revenues. Barb Bellamy of the City Manager's Office distributed a chart entitled "levels of Support for Various Taxes: All Sample Surveys Combined." e Mr. Boles expressed the hope that the council would place the information from the chart in the proper context, and not discuss each revenue option as though it was to be referred by the council to the voters. While he agreed with Mr. Boles, noting the support some options received from the community, Mr. MacDonald pointed out that the voters could launch a referendum and place a tax on the ballot. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to fund the fire operations and construction through a general obligation bond. Mr. Nicholson pointed out that general obligation bonds must be referred to the voters. Were the bond to fail, the component would be eliminated. He believed that the component fell into Category 2 rather than Category 1 were that the case. The motion passed, 8:0. Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Mounts reminded the council that gas tax moneys can be used only for road-related costs. He said that the council had realized $360,000 in savings by moving the street tree program out of the General Fund into the Road Fund, increasing the shortfall in the Road Fund. That shortfall could be addressed through the proposed local increase in the gas tax. e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 13, 1992 Page 4 5:30 p.m.