06/24/1981 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council could pass an ordinance placing the purchase of Gillespie Butte on the - ballot within 35 days before September 15, 1981, which would be the next possible election date for something of this nature. If the initiative petition process is permitted to go to completion and enough signatures are verified, the election could not take place until 90 days later. The signatures would have to be veri- fied by July 25, 1981, to go on the November ballot. Ms. Smith asked what the election costs would be if this were the only item on the ballot. Bill McGuire, Management Services Director, stated that it would cost the City approximately $10,000 if it were the sole item on the ballot. Ms. Smith suggested waiting until after this Tuesday's election to see what else might be on the ballot since with other issues from other jurisdictions on the ballot, the cost would be divided between the jurisdictions that have items on the ballot. If there are other budget items on that ballot, it would be cheaper to have it placed on the September ballot. Mr. Obie noted agreement with Ms. Smith. He suggested asking EWEB to delay any action on Gillespie Butte to see if enough signatures are received to place it on the November election ballot. Ms. Wooten noted agreement that consulting EWEB would be a good idea, even though EWEB had previously agreed not to act until it was determined what the residents of Eugene wanted. She would like consideration given to the cost-effectiveness of having this item placed on the September ballot. Ms. Smith stated that the council must turn this issue back to EWEB. She would like a response from them as to which direction the council should take and which date they should set. Ms. Miller asked how long the proponents have to collect signatures without the petitions becoming void. She asked if there is a way that staff could check the signatures without triggering the official e procedure which would cause the 90-day waiting period. She does not feel council should place this item on a ballot if enough signatures are not received. Mr. Swanson stated that the signatures need to be secured within 100 days after the first signature is affixed to the first petition. If someone wanted to informally count the number of signatures on those petitions which have come in without having the Finance Officer verify the authenticity, that could be done without triggering the process. However, this would be an informal process with no assurance that the necessary number of signatures have been received because they would not be verified. Dave Whitlow, Assistant City Manager, added that there may be a difficulty in collecting money from a serial levy once the yearly tax assessment notices have been sent out. He would need to check on that. Ms. Miller noted that the last time this had occurred, follow-up assessment notices had to be sent out and that was more expensive than if it had been able to go out with the regular assessment notices. Mr. Haws arrived at the meeting. Mr. Whitlow said staff would bring a report back at the next council meeting, July 8, 1981. Ms. Wooten expressed concern that the collection of signatures might exceed the allowable time limit. Warren Wong, Management Services, responded that the petition drive began in mid-May so they had until sometime in August. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 24, 1981 Page 2