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MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall December 6, 1999 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Pat Fart, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Pap~, Gary Rayor. DINNER WORK SESSION OF THE EUGENE CITY COUNCIL Mayor James D. Torrey called the work session of the City Council to order. A. Work Session: Construction Permit Fund Status Paul Farmer, Planning and Development Department Director, provided introductory remarks. He said that Fund 151, the Construction Permit Fund, supported not only permit review and inspection staff but loaned staff from the Fire and Public Works departments as well. The fund was mandated to be 100 percent fee supported in past years; staff had recently indicated to the Budget Committee it did not think that the approach was sustainable. Mr. Farmer noted that Seattle had undertaken a similar experiment and attempted to collect 95 percent of costs, but had abandoned that and gone to a 80-20 cost-share split, which was the formula Eugene had employed prior to the passage of ballot measures 47/50. He noted reductions in the personnel supported by the fund and reductions in other areas, such as supplies and fleet. He anticipated the budget review would include discussion of ways to fix the fund in the coming years. Mr. Farmer acknowledged the contributions of Marsha Miller, Keli Osbom, Scott Luell, and Shelly Warren of the Planning and Development Department to the presentation Ms. Osborn, Planning and Development Department, noted that staff was not requesting any council action at this point, but wished to ensure the council was up to date on the status of the fund. She provided the council with a presentation on the history of the fund. She described the current status of the fund, expanding on Mr. Farmer's earlier remarks about reductions in personnel and noting continuous improvement measures. Ms. Osborn reviewed some possible options for making up the shortfall projected in revenues at this point, which included fee increases, service reductions, and a new funding source. She noted the staff proposal to process a request for State fee increases, establish a department advisory committee to examine some of the issues related to the fund, and direct a one-time infusion from the General Fund to Fund 151 to secure the fund reserve through 2000. Ms. Osborn reviewed a time line associated with the staff proposal. Mr. Farr asked if the department had done any studies determining the average person hours spent reviewing a building permit for a single-family house. Ms. Osbom said staff had that information although she was unsure how useful it was. She said it was somewhat dated. Mr. Farr suggested that the information would benefit the community by informing it how its charges compared to other communities. He said that there was a perception that the City spent too many hours per permit. Ms. Osborn said that staff could do further analysis. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 1999 Page 1 5:30 p.m.