CC Minutes - 08/13/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Pap8 said he thought repealing the ordinance was a slap in the face to the members of the Budget Citizen Subcommittee. Ms. Bettman noted her continuing opposition to the fee as well as her fear that repealing it would not put it to rest. She preferred to see the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce place the fee on the ballot so the voters could have the final say. Ms. Bettman agreed with Mr. Green about the City's priorities in terms of its Road Fund expenditures. She said that decisions not to fund maintenance and preservation had been made for decades, and now the council was using the backlog to justify a new tax. She noted Commissioner Bill Dwyer's suggestion that the City package its maintenance projects and then request Road Fund dollars from the County. She wanted to find a way to allocate the City's dollars to its highest priority, which is the maintenance of the existing transportation system. The City could always go to the voters for new projects or request a gas tax to fund new projects as long as it was protecting the City's existing investments. Mayor Torrey indicated he would vote against the motion in the event of a tie. Mayor Torrey called for a second round of comments. Ms. Nathanson suggested that LCOG could be the vehicle for discussion if the motion passed. She hoped there was an opportunity for a regional discussion and wanted serious attention paid to how the conversation was facilitated so that there was an outcome. Ms. Taylor thought the City had been close to a discussion with the County when it had rushed to pass the TSMF. She hoped it was not implemented. She believed that a board majority indicated interest in a regional discussion. She said that Mr. Green's points related to the City's priorities were well-taken. The City should put maintenance first if that was its priority. She suggested that the heads of each body convene a meeting. Mr. Meisner said that he did not disavow the need for the funding by offering his motion. However, to the extent that the community was focused on retaining the TSMF, it lost other options and the opportunity for a regional community conversation about transportation funding. He acknowledged the work of the Budget Citizen Subcommittee, which worked from a list of several solutions and found a gas tax increase and the TSMF key elements to a funding approach. He agreed with its recommendation, and said he feared losing the tool entirely if the council continued to retain it at this time. Mr. Meisner suggested that the region could use a model based on the United Front to reach a solution. He also liked the mayor's past suggestion that the three jurisdictions look past their jurisdictional boundaries when considering maintenance funding. Mr. Green noted that Commissioner Anna Morrison was also interested in a regional discussion and would be supportive if she was convinced that the focus of the discussion was on maintenance funding. He also noted that the board had not opposed the local gas tax increase. Mr. Green believed that a vehicle registration surcharge was also possible given that Oregon's surcharge was among the lowest in the country. He shared the mayor's interest in a maintenance approach that transcended jurisdictional boundaries. MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 13, 2003 Page 3 Work Session