Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Fart noted that work was also a worthwhile after-school activity for youth. He hoped the task <br />force did not lose sight of that fact, and could leverage the expertise of members and the <br />services provided by the City to help youth realize that work was an option. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly was pleased to hear about the proposed formation of youth focus groups as he believed <br />focus groups would produce better information than a survey. Regarding the possibility of a <br />November ballot measure, he did not want to rush the issue and preferred to continue to <br />examine other revenue sources in conjunction with other local jurisdictions. He thought the <br />special services district concept was an intriguing one. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ said that while it was clear that the community had some problems with youth and <br />needed to keep working to address those problems, there were many fine young people in the <br />community who were graduating from high school. He said that the council should keep that in <br />mind to maintain perspective. Mr. Kelly concurred. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey was anxious to proceed with the comprehensive youth program. He agreed with <br />Mr. Meisner that the problem was not a Eugene-only problem, but believed the program was an <br />opportunity to bring in other local governments and the school districts together in a <br />comprehensive effort. He thought there were four options for funding the program: an income <br />tax, a business tax, the property tax, and an admittance tax on theater tickets, etc., including <br />events at the University of Oregon. He pointed out that attendance at such events was <br />discretionary. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said that an after-school program was an opportunity to employ college and high <br />school students to work with youth in the middle and grade schools, benefitting both groups. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner supported the concept of an alternate source of revenue, such as the admittance tax <br />mentioned by Mayor Torrey. He thought the property tax had been overused. He called for a <br />comprehensive financial approach that identified areas of need and funding sources to address <br />those needs before the council took a piecemeal approach to service delivery and lost the <br />opportunity to use such a tax for other, broader purposes. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Meisner about the need for a multi-jurisdictional approach to a special <br />district concept. He was not interested in the property tax. He was interested in the admittance <br />tax but wanted to know how much was being contemplated on a per ticket basis and what it <br />would realize. He pointed out that the increase in the PUF at the Hult Center had a negative <br />impact on the resident companies. Mr. Johnson observed that most of the cities in the state of <br />Washington exempted private, nonprofit performing arts organizations from the tax. <br /> <br />Mr. Fart indicated interest in the admittance tax. He noted that it would collect revenues from <br />noncitizens. He wanted more information about the actual tax rate. <br />Mr. Rayor said that he envisioned the development of a taxing mechanism as a longer process <br />than two to three months. He thought there should be time to get the message about the need <br />out, time to educate the public about the issue, and time to get public feedback if a tax was <br />contemplated. He thought that such a process should be standard practice for any tax measure. <br />Mr. Rayor said that the concept that the council "just discovered this huge $36 million problem" <br />and needed to place a measure on the ballot within two months was not good civics. He also <br />thought that such a measure should be prioritized in terms of other needs, such as funding for <br />the public safety information system, AIRS. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 12, 2000 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />