CC Minutes - 12/06/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Responding to Mr. Fart's remarks, Mr. Meisner said that while it was true that Eugene's permitting fees were higher than, for example, Salem's, its SDCs were considerably lower. When permit fees and SDCs were added together, Eugene had the lowest development costs in Oregon. Mr. Meisner requested comparative data regarding the services offered by Eugene and other communities. He said that before the City reduced services, he wanted to ensure those reductions occurred comparatively and in a manner than preserved efficiency. Regarding the question of "who benefits," Mr. Meisner agreed it was a good question but suggested it was often used by some in the development community as an argument for transferring costs they would otherwise have to pay to the general population. He wanted to analyze the costs of implementing community values, such as opposition to "big box" retail stores, through regulation, before further discussion of who benefitted and who paid for those costs. At the request of Mr. Rayor, Ms. Osborn clarified the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) counts provided by staff, noting that the four positions added for the Hyundai project were vacant positions deauthorized and not included in the fiscal year 2000 count. The City had added 1.5 FTE in the Public Works element of the service, which showed up in the fiscal year 1999 count, creating a "blip" in the FTE count. She explained that the City had been operating with a shortage of personnel in that area. Mr. Farmer said that the competitive job market had exacerbated the situation. Mr. Lee appreciated the presentation. He endorsed early council action to avoid a funding shortfall in the future. He questioned whether the staff work involved was seasonal, and if positions could be backfilled when demand was high. Mr. Farmer said that the City did not see much seasonal variation in construction activity, particularly in the commercial construction field. Ms. Osborn said that one constraint to implementing Mr. Lee's suggestion was the need for staff certifications for certain specialties. Mr. Pap~ asked if all three departments involved in the service issued different permits. Ms. Osborn said that the building permits were issued by the Building Official, but reviews were performed by staff from three different departments. Mr. Pap~ asked if turnaround times would be reduced if staff was in the same department. Ms. Osborn said that the City looked at that issue in the past and could look at it again. She noted that previously, management had been concerned about the potential loss of technical continuity from the technical experts in the home departments. Mr. Pap~ asked if consolidating staff in one department could save costs. Ms. Osborn said it was possible. Responding to a question from Mr. Farr, Ms. Osborn confirmed that Eugene's average SDC costs did not include the water SDC charged by Eugene Water & Electric Board. She did not know if the figures provided by Wilsonville or Salem included a water SDC, and indicated staff would find out the answer to Mr. Farr's question. B.Work Session: Federal Courthouse/City Hall Alternatives MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 1999 Page 4 5:30 p.m.