2.23.2019 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes

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Employee Fixed/Employer Variable • Councilor Clark- asked if the number of small-scale employers was considered; expressed concern about those who can do business elsewhere will relocate to avoid the tax. • Councilor Syrett - asked if minimum wage increase were factored in. Variable Rates - Employee/Employer • Jon Ruiz - asked council for feedback on the concepts to help with further analysis. • Councilor Semple - supported an equal rate. • Councilor Yeh - supported an equal rate, noting the idea that the rate would be fixed after FY26. • Councilor Zelenka - said that "fair and equitable" should be the priority; list of tradeoffs would be helpful. • Councilor Clark- supported an equal rate, noting that this council can't bind future councils to the decision. • Councilor Syrett -said she leans toward an equal rate but would be open to modulation for minimum wage earners. • Mayor Vinis -supported a fixed rate with a maximum amount of .29 percent. • Councilor Semple - clarified the impact of the tax on a person making $12 per hour. • Councilor Zelenka - requested additional modeling on the impacts on non -profits. Considerations • Councilor Clark - supported council referral of the tax proposal rather than passage by ordinance. • Councilor Pryor - acknowledged that there would be opposition to any proposal but the council should exercise its authority to make the decision. • Councilor Taylor - expressed concern that a lot time and resources have already been spent on this initiative. • Councilor Syrett - said she was leaning toward an ordinance; requested information on the cost and process for a council or citizen referral. • Councilor Clark - said the council shouldn't limit its options; the success of the road bonds is a good example of making the case to the public for the need and mechanism. • Mayor Vinis - noted that one benefit of the gap funding is to demonstrate to the public the value of additional public safety dollars. • Councilor Pryor - pointed to the unique situation the council faced in attempting to address an issue with such public safety serious implications. • Councilor Semple - agreed that the community is facing a public safety crisis; said the council is elected to make difficult decisions; this is a livability issue that affects everyone. • Councilor Zelenka - said that if the council believes in the value of the proposal, its importance should be easily conveyed to the voters. • Councilor Semple - asked if there was a strategy for addressing the additional gap that would occur in implementation if the tax proposal is referred to the voters. 3. Communications Community Relations Manager Laura Hammond provided an overview of current communications programs and introduced the concept of a Community Survey. Discussion • Councilor Clark- encouraged exploration of other types of analytics for measuring success and appeal of outreach efforts, which are often more reliable than surveys; provided the example of indexing and hash -tagging agenda materials for greater transparency and historical context. MINUTES - Eugene City Council February 23, 2019 Page 4 Workshop