CC Minutes - 06/23/03 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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general information was not covered by permit cost recovery. He stressed that progress and improvements were being made and to take more funding away from the program was not the way to facilitate improvements. He stressed that he had given the matter his priority attention since he had been with the City. He said he understood the desire to provide service in a more efficient way, but that a cut in the eleventh hour would not help. Councilor Bettman noted that the Budget Committee felt its allocation was adequate. She said the funding problems for the PIC were efficiency-and-management based. Roll call vote; the vote on the motion was a 4:4 tie, with councilors Bettman, Meisner, Taylor, and Kelly voting in opposition, and councilors Nathanson, Pap~, Solomon, and Poling voting in support. Mayor Torrey voted in favor of the amendment, and the amendment passed on a final vote of 5:4. Councilor Meisner, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved to amend the FY04 budget to restore $7,500 for community arts grants using $7,500 from Central Services from the allocation for Community Television of Lane County. (Specifically he moved to amend Exhibit A of the resolution adopting the FY04 budget by reducing the general fund allocation to Central Services by $7,500 and increasing the general fund allocation to Library Recreation and Cultural Services by $7,500.) Councilor Meisner said he had been looking for possibilities to get the most benefit to the public out of the budgeted funding spent. He said he had been impressed by the community arts grants and their ability to reach great numbers of people. Councilor Taylor said she would vote against the amendment. She said she was in favor of restoring funding to community arts grants but not by eliminating the funding to community television. She raised concern that no one participating in community television had been asked to testify on the issue. Councilor Bettman said she would vote against the amendment. She reiterated Councilor Taylor's desire to see funding restored to community arts grants but raised concern over eliminating community television funding. She commented that community television was the only free speech available on TV. Councilor Kelly said there was a large amount of community support for community television. He said he would not support the amendment. He said he had repeatedly told community television representatives that its funding was not in jeopardy. Councilor Pap~ noted that the Budget Committee had implored community television to do fund raising of its own. He questioned the status of that effort. Mary Walston said community television had requested $5,500 so far of the $7,500 allocated to them by the City funding from the City and had received 1:1 matching in-kind donations as stipulated in its agreement with the City. Councilor Pap~ said he would not support the motion but would take a hard look at fund raising efforts in the future. MINUTES Eugene City Council June 23, 2003 Page 8 Regular Meeting