CC Minutes - 04/18/05 PS - Laserfiche WebLink

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encouraged to obey the law but the State should not create barriers to letting people live here and be part of the community. She pointed out that all were immigrants once. Mr. Pryor asked why the bill was being proposed, and what problem it was attempting to address. Ms. Bettman indicated the bill was one of several targeted at the immigrant population. She said that outside the human rights and public safety issues the bill raised, she objected to it because it was aimed at a powerless group. City Manager Taylor indicated the bill was spurred by a nationwide movement related to homeland security. He agreed the bill raised human rights and public safety issues, as the City wanted people to have licenses when they drove. Mayor Piercy asked the councilors to consider the implications of their votes. She believed the issue could be controversial in the community. Mr. Kelly said there were probably hundreds of people in the community with uncertain legal status who are currently driving. He wanted to ensure such individuals know how to drive so they could pass a licensing test. He believed there was a basic hypocrisy that companies in the community were willing to employ undocumented workers while other segments of the community, as represented through the bill, were considering denying them licenses. Mr. Pryor asked if the City needed to take a position on the bill. Mr. Pap6 believed it should. Ms. Solomon expressed concern the discussion was taking place at a process session rather than at a regular meeting as she was not prepared to address the issue at this time. In response to Mr. Kelly's remarks, Mr. Pap6 suggested that most companies insisted on legal documenta- tion of their employees as a matter of principle. Ms. Taylor said her concern about the bill was based on her belief that someone in the country illegally should not have a driver's license. She suggested the item be tabled. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to table the item. The motion passed, 5:3; Mr. Kelly, Ms. Bettman, and Ms. Ortiz voting no. 1. Subcommittee Update: Vision and Goals Statement The process session was facilitated by Greta Utecht and Alicia Hayes of Lane County. Mayor Piercy called the council's attention to the vision and goals statements, included in the meeting packet as Attachment A. She thanked the members of the ad hoc committee who assisted in its preparation, Ms. Ortiz, Mr. Pryor, and Ms. Solomon, and acknowledged the contributions of Ms. Walston and former councilor Ken Tollenaar, particularly for his work on the goals statements. CURRENT VISION STATEMENT Eugene is a regional center for education, culture and commerce, and a comfortable, attractive MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 2 Process Session