02/28/1979 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Pye noted that Springfield had passed a resolution and L-COG had written a letter to Senator Hatfield. He would supply Council with a copy of the resolution. Mr. Haws left the meeting. B. Revenue Sharing Manager noted this would be a major topic for discussion at the NLC, and Council would probably receive a great deal of briefing on strategy. He reviewed the memo distributed. Federal revenue sharing funds make up about 10 percent of the City's $27 million annual operating budget. If that money were reduced, it would put the City at a disadvantage with resulting cuts in services and higher property taxes. - Ms. Smith requested a breakdown regarding services or actual uses of revenue sharing funds and the impact if those were reduced. Manager noted they would have to be stated in general terms. Loren Stubbert, Finance Administration, noted the Federal revenue sharing funds were used as a general resource, and distribution to departments was somewhat arbitrary for administrative purposes. Staff will provide such a breakdown for Council before the NLC meeting. Mayor Keller wondered if the 10 percent of general operating budget was a higher or lower figure compared to other cities of the same size ~ as Eugene. Manager said it would compare relatively the same. He ~ said revenue sharing monies have not increased with the rate of inflation and have become a smaller part of most operating budgets in the last few years. Prior to the last few years, the funds were used for major capital improvements. He noted the 10 percent would com- prise the total priority list of last year. Mr. Delay said the revenue sharing monies represent an alternative to local property taxes. He said it was one way to return the massive outflow of money to the Federal government back into the community, and felt it would be a major loss to the community if those funds were cut back. Mayor Keller felt that Eugene did pay a considerably higher portion of property taxes than others. On the other hand, historically, Oregon has received less than most states. He felt that point should be made to the Congressional delegation. Mr. Stubbert noted a main concern expressed by some congressmen regarding Federal revenue sharing had been the lack of strings attached to the program. Some congressmen seemed to have serious reservations about giving local governments the freedom to use Federal revenue sharing monies. e 2/28/79--6 l28