Laserfiche WebLink
made sure the defendants understood the material their attorneys had explained to them, he <br />was respectful, and had sincerely wished them a positive outcome; said she likes the tone he is <br />setting for the municipal court. <br />• Councilor Zelenka - asked about pretrial vs. post -sentencing jail holds and why more jail beds <br />might not help; asked how long someone would be held pretrial; said accountability for lower <br />level crimes question comes up in the community frequently because many feel offending <br />individuals are not begin held accountable because they don't go to jail; asked how council <br />could help address this issue; said the municipal court is just one part of an overall system that <br />is impacted significantly by inadequate resources for addiction and homelessness issues. <br />• Councilor Taylor - said she recently forwarded a list of questions to judge Gill; asked if the <br />municipal court can sentence people to mental institutions, if people get put in jail for parking <br />tickets, if people could be put in jail for having an open container, and if there was a lot of time <br />spent in court with neighborhood and domestic disputes; asked about barking dogs. <br />• Councilor Evans - said he's heard that the state hospitals are not accepting referrals from the <br />courts because they say there is a capacity issue and too many people are being sent there; <br />asked what happens to people who are released sooner than they should be from the state <br />hospital. <br />• Councilor Clark - said he was trying to make the argument that the lack of jail beds is the most <br />dysfunctional part of the dysfunctional system in the city; said he wanted to separate people's <br />condition from behavior, noting that there is an epidemic of lawlessness in the community at a <br />misdemeanor level and offenders are not being held accountable to the degree that a large <br />chunk of the community wants; asked what is the most broken part of the system that council <br />could address and make this better; asked about the effects on Eugene of the State's <br />classification of drug possession charges as misdemeanors rather than felony offenses and <br />what would occur if Oregon were like other states in that regard. <br />The meeting adjourned at 7:16 p.m. <br />Respectfully submitted, <br />,6 �,,_.t <br />Beth Forrest <br />City Recorder <br />(Recorded by Elena Domingo) <br />Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting: here. <br />MINUTES - Eugene City Council November 25, 2019 Page 3 <br />Work Session <br />