CC Minutes - 02/22/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Responding to a question from Mr. Rayor, Mr. Johnson indicated the council would consider the final design for the new library on March 8. Ms. Nathanson asked if the last bullet in the section entitled "Parks and Open Space" referred to policies that would be referred to the council or individual projects. Mr. Johnson said both; there would be policy issues related to, for example, the City's partnership with School District 4J. He added that staff was following the program as outlined in the tabloid offered to voters. He said that there may be new issues arising that staff will want to review with the council before proceeding. Referring to the section regarding the Year 2000 issue, Mr. Torrey suggested that if the City was not prepared to address the issue, it would open itself to ridicule. He had asked Mr. Johnson to get together with the other chief executives to do an intergovernmental analysis and to consider the possibility of asking the PSCC to discuss the issue in conjunction with the State National Guard. He hoped that the County's sense of responsibility for assisting its citizens in addressing Year 2000 did not stop at the city limits. Mr. Torrey said he was primarily concerned about how Eugene could guarantee a source of electricity from Eugene Water & Electric Board for the community, and asked if staff was discussing the issue with EWEB. Mr. Johnson said yes; staff would provide an update on the topic on February 24. · Public Safety Acting Police Chief Jim Hill reviewed the section of City Service Issues related to public safety. He indicated concerns over the department's ability to continue the sector command model with a declining ratio in the number of officers to citizens. In addition, the work force was dropping in age and experience. Responding to a question from Mr. Kelly regarding enforcement priorities, Chief Hill responded that cases are followed up on the basis of solvability; in some cases, including even burglary, cases were not followed up unless there was a likelihood of success. Lesser assaults such as bar fights were sometimes not followed up, particularly if the suspect lived out of town. Chief Hill said that staff must prioritize the referrals it received about, for example, child abuse, because it received hundreds of such referrals. He said that the most serious crimes were the department's enforcement priorities. Responding to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Johnson said that the Custody Referee was a State office, not a County office, and the local jurisdictions assisted the local Custody Referee by lobbying for additional operating funds. More delegation by judges to the Custody Referee occurred in Lane County than in any other county. He noted that funding for the Custody Referee had been included in the PSCC levy. Mr. Kelly expressed concern that the PSCC Finance Subcommittee would make decisions about funding in isolation without considering the broader context. Mr. Johnson pointed that Mr. Pap8 served on the subcommittee and Mr. Wong was staff to the subcommittee, and offered to provide periodic updates on that process. Mr. Rayor emphasized the importance of public safety and the need for adequate staffing levels. He suggested the council may have to consider a shift of priorities to fund adequate staff levels. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 22, 1999 Page 4 5:30 p.m.