4.8.2019 City Council Work Session Minutes

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 April 8, 2019 5:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Jennifer Yeh, Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Greg Evans, Betty Taylor, and Claire Syrett (via phone) Mayor Vinis opened the March 8, 2019, work session of the Eugene City Council. 1. Committee Reports and Items of Interest • Councilor Taylor -Reported on League of Cities work with Councilor Evans; expressed concern about EWEB policies regarding missed payments; suggested working towards Federal subsidies for Amtrak. • Councilor Semple - Expressed concern regarding oil cars in Eugene; spoke about online resources for tree inspections; expressed continued interest in downtown day center; expressed concern for changes in Saturday Market operations and communications. • Mayor Vinis - Mentioned work being done at Hunsaker and Beaver Lane to make area safer; shared about future attendance to Walkability Conference regarding Vision Zero; discussed work on TAC report recommendation implementation; discussed attendance to Prepare Out Loud; gave kudos to various City staff working on projects. 2. Community Safety Initiative Assistant City Manager Kristie Hammit, Fire Chief Joe Zaludek, Police Chief Chris Skinner, and Senior Financial Analyst Maurizio Bottalico provided information about a possible payroll tax structure to fund the Community Safety service system gaps. (CouncilorZelenka arrived at 6:10 p.m.; Councilor Syrett called in at 6:15 p.m.) Council Discussion: • Councilor Clark- inquired about the amounts of the library levy and parks levy and bond; expressed concern about the order of needs funded and the mechanism for funding community safety but would like community safety needs prioritized. • Councilor Evans - expressed support for the proposed mechanism; cited personal anecdote about need for services; suggested there is not another mechanism available to meet the need for community safety; asked about the net affect of investment on emergency calls. • Councilor Taylor - expressed desire for public shelter downtown; expressed disagreement with Councilor Clark stating that libraries and parks are a matter of community safety; expressed concerns about equity of payroll tax; suggested use of transient tax instead of a payroll tax and supported lobbying the state to repurpose state transient tax dollars. • Councilor Pryor- stated the need to do something quickly and create responsiveness within the City; cited work to view options for funding mechanism and expressed belief that a payroll tax works; voiced a desire to focus on what can be done rather than what can't be done. MINUTES - Eugene City Council April 8, 2019 Page 1 Work Session