Ord. 20616 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Crime deterrence through the establishment of a 10 -person Street Crimes Unit that will proactively deter crimes and increase officer presence in neighborhoods. • Implementation of prevention efforts aimed at keeping people and youth off the streets, such as adding homeless services that help people stabilize and improve their lives, strengthening the network of support with nonprofit and medical organizations to help reduce the number of people who chronically use the system, and growing youth programs to engage and help at -risk youth, including after-school programs, 15th Night and inclusion programs. • More people who commit crimes will be held accountable through the addition of detectives to investigate crimes, the opening of a third courtroom to resolve cases more quickly, the addition of more prosecutors, court appointed attorneys and court staff, and the increase in the number of jail beds and probation officers. L. Providing the community safety services necessary to achieve the above-described outcomes requires a new, long-term, sustainable funding source. As part of the effort to find a new funding source, the Council directed the formation of a Community Safety Revenue Team to make recommendations to the City Manager. The Revenue Team focused on identifying a funding mechanism that could raise the amount needed, would be stable and flexible, fair and feasible. The Revenue Team recommended a modest payroll tax to address the significant and urgent gaps in our system and to provide the services that those who live, visit and work in Eugene need, expect and deserve. M. A payroll tax on both employers and employees provides the funds needed to bring our community safety services up to the level that the community is expecting and entitled to receive. The addition of this separate, dedicated, revenue source for community safety services, together with the City's current, stable budget, will make a real difference in how community safety services are provided throughout the City. THE CITY OF EUGENE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Sections 3.720, 3.722, 3.724, 3.726, 3.728, 3.730, 3.732, 3.734, 3.736, and 3.738 of the Eugene Code, 1971, are added to provide as follows: Community Safety Payroll Tax 3.720 Payroll Tax — Purpose. The provisions contained in sections 3.720 to 3.738 of this code are for the purpose of providing funding to increase community safety services through the adoption of a dedicated tax on wages, hereinafter referred to as the payroll tax. 3.722 Payroll Tax - Definitions. For the purposes of sections 3.720 through 3.738 of this code, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise: City. The City of Eugene. Ordinance - Page 3 of 7