CC Minutes - 11/13/01 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Councilor Pap~ expressed a desire to see accountability for the funds used toward drug treatment. City Manager Jim Johnson said that accountability could be achieved through the contracts process. Councilor Meisner noted that there was a finite amount of money available for City services. He expressed concern over earmarking funds and then taking the money from other services. Councilor Kelly commented that drug treatment was a public safety strategy. He urged the council to think carefully about the intent of the voters regarding measure 3. He raised concern that Eugene was already paying a larger portion for social services than its jurisdictional partners and suggested that the forfeiture money be specifically used for citizens of Eugene only. Councilor Nathanson stressed that the voters intended the money to go toward drug treatment. She noted that Judge Larson's citation of the measure did not read the same as staff's interpretation and remarked that "some other purpose specifically stated by law" meant some other specific purpose just as special as drug treatment and not just using the money for another purpose. She stressed the importance of working toward the intent of the voters. She added her concern that Eugene was spending more on social services than its intergovernmental partners and expressed support for Councilor Kelly's suggestion of making the drug treatment available to Eugene citizens only. She expressed a desire to see the funding supplement Eugene's share of the support of social services. In response to a question from Councilor Nathanson regarding how the City of Springfield and Lane County had addressed the issue, Mr. Carlson said Springfield had approved an ordinance that did not dedicate forfeiture funds to drug treatment and Lane County had not yet considered the issue. In response to a question from Councilor Nathanson regarding whether the forfeiture money would supplant or supplement Eugene's contribution to social services, Mr. Carlson said it would be a decision of the Budget Committee during the budget process. Councilor Rayor said he would support an amendment that followed the intent of the voters and earmarked the funds toward drug treatment. He commented that less money could be earmarked to social services during the budget process. He said that drug treatment was the most important social service and should come first. Councilor Bettman thanked those who testified. She suggested that the same people testify before the Board of County Commissioners when it considered the issue. Councilor Bettman summarized the issue as a choice between treatment beds and jail beds. She stressed that treatment beds were a much less expensive and more effective way to go. She expressed her support for dedicating the funds to drug treatment for the citizens of Eugene. She remarked that she preferred to dedicate the money through the ordinance process to ensure that it was ongoing. Mayor Torrey noted that everyone agreed that drug treatment worked. He said the difficult choice was to find which programs were going to be cut to allow the dedication of funding to drug treatment. He raised concern that the City was in danger of losing a substantial amount of State funding in January. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2001 Page 6 Regular Meeting