AMENDED Agenda Packet 6-10-19 Work Session

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June 10, 2019, Work Session – Item 2 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session and Possible Action: An Ordinance to Fund Community Safety with a Payroll Tax and Adding New Sections to the Eugene Code, 1971 Meeting Date: June 10, 2019 Agenda Item Number: 2 Department: Central Services Staff Contact: Kristie Hammitt www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5524 ISSUE STATEMENT The City Council is scheduled for a work session and possible action on an ordinance to fund community safety services with a payroll tax. The City Council held a public hearing on the ordinance on May 28, 2019. The proposed payroll tax will provide the funds needed to increase the capacity and services of the city’s community safety system. BACKGROUND At the September 26, 2018, Community Safety System work session, council unanimously passed a motion to include $8.6 million to fund a one-time 18-month Community Safety service strategy as a short-term plan to begin addressing the $23.6 million gap in public safety services. The 18-month funding plan ends June 30, 2020. Council directed staff to immediately begin work on a long-term funding plan. A Community Safety Revenue Team was formed to develop a recommendation for the City Manager. The Community Safety Revenue Team began reviewing funding options in November 2018 and completed their report in February 2019. The Community Safety Revenue Team report to the City Manager recommended a payroll tax as the ongoing funding mechanism for the Community Safety Initiative. The group was reconvened in April 2019 to do further revenue analysis on an income tax and River Road/Santa Clara annexation funding options. The team completed this work on April 19, 2019. Further evaluation of the income tax and annexation funding options did not change the Community Safety Revenue Team’s original recommendation of a payroll tax. However, the team did support considering structuring the payroll tax to lessen the burden on businesses. Council received a copy of this report at its work session on May 8. At the work session on May 8, council received a brief presentation on a proposed Community Safety Payroll Tax ordinance. The draft ordinance included input and feedback received from City Council, the Community Safety Revenue Team, and community outreach. Specifically, the draft ordinance included accountability measures that ensure funds may only be used for the Community Safety initiative, require an independent financial audit of fund use, establish a Citizen