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In closing, Chief Hill said that the Hobson Study indicated that 50 more officers were needed just <br />to maintain the level of current service. He said that there were efforts to change the work <br />schedule to align it more closely with the work that was needed. He said that without additional <br />resources, the department's ability to continue at current levels of service would suffer. <br /> <br />Fire Chief Tom Tallon reported for the Fire Department. He said that there were ten goals set by <br />the council under the main heading of enhancing emergency preparedness. He reported that <br />seven of the ten goals were completed and the rest were ongoing. As examples, he noted the <br />completion of the City's emergency management plan, the opening of the Emergency Operations <br />Center, and the community emergency preparedness training program. <br /> <br />Chief Tallon reported that the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) system was one of the biggest <br />issues facing the department. He said that the challenge would come from the impacts from <br />changes made in the federal government under the Healthcare Financing Administration fee <br />structures that would be implemented. He said that the result could mean as much as $1 million <br />less to the City. He said that the EMS redesign was created to counter that potential loss. It <br />was a shared project between Springfield and Eugene that would be completed by a goal date of <br />January 2002. <br /> <br />Chief Tallon said that the second biggest challenge would be the provision of ongoing services to <br />the community in light of the severe financial forecast. He said that providing service to <br />incorporated pads of Santa Clara was proving to be a challenge to the City administration. He <br />stressed that the department did not have the staffing to meet the challenges that the council had <br />set for the department. <br /> <br />Director Paul Farmer reported for the Planning and Development Department. He reported that <br />the cash flow problem for the Construction Permits Fund continued to be a serious problem. He <br />said that all of the State fees had been raised to the maximum extent possible. Another 12 <br />positions would be eliminated from the department. He reiterated the seriousness of the problem <br />and said that staff had taken corrective action as quickly and responsibly as possible. <br /> <br />Mr. Farmer said that Marsha Miller and her staff deserved a tremendous amount of thanks for <br />their work. <br /> <br />Mr. Farmer went on to say that the elimination of positions was causing serious problems in the <br />diversity area because of the last in, first out policy. <br /> <br />Mr. Farmer said that the Construction Permit Fund could be thought of as "the canary in the mine <br />shaft." If the permit applications were not coming in at the counter, then growth was not <br />happening in the City and taxes were not coming in. He reiterated Mr. Wong's remarks that the <br />State of Oregon had created a situation where local government relied on growth. He <br />commented that without growth, reduction in services would occur. <br /> <br />Touching on nodal development, Mr. Farmer acknowledged that it was a major issue for the <br />council. He said that staff was developing a more aggressive plan for its implementation around <br />the city. <br /> <br />Regarding affordable housing, Mr. Farmer said that there had been a brainstorming session to try <br />to make things work better. He noted that getting tax credits was getting more and more difficult. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2000 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />