CC Minutes - 07/27/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Nathanson asked the City Attorney to explain why the council could not submit "multiple choice" questions to voters. Mr. Klein that Roberts v City of Eugene had determined that local governments could not overrule State law to accomplish its goals. He said State election regulations prohibited consideration of multiple outcomes in an ballot measure and that "multiple choice" questions could be placed before voters only in an election held independently from those operated by the State. In response to a question from Mr. Farr, Mr. Klein explained that if the motion was adopted with less than a two-thirds majority, the emergency clause of the ordinance would not be adopted and the ordinance would go into effect in thirty days. He said that the issue would continue to be on the November 1998 ballot, but that the process for creating material for the voter's pamphlet would not be able to be completed. Ms. Taylor stated that she would not vote for the motion because she believed the issue of a flag on Skinner Bute would become divisive in the community and affect the ability of the City to deal with other concerns. She said the council should not have been faced with the issue. The motion was adopted, 6:2, with Mr. Meisner and Ms. Taylor voting no, and became Ordinance 20128. IV. PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE: LIBRARY LOCAL OPTION LEVY Financial Management Services Financial Analyst Sue Cutsogeorge stated that the council would hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance which referred a local option levy for library services to the voters in the November 1998 election. She reviewed the work and recommendations of the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee which had led to the proposed ordinance. She stated that the proposed levy was $9.24 million over four years and that the typical Eugene tax payer would pay an average of $39.50 per year. She said the council was scheduled to vote on placing the measure on the ballot at its July 29 meeting. Mr. Tollenaar stated that he would be asking whether funds to add Sunday hours at the library and to support a volunteer coordinator staff position should be included in the budget during the council's discussion of the ordinance. Ms. Swanson Gribskov stated that, during the council's discussion of the ordinance, she would be asking whether an Unappropriated Ending Fund Balance (UEFB) should be included as a component of the proposed local option levy to support library operations. Mr. Cutsogeorge explained that the UEFB was included to account for the necessity of providing revenue between the July start of the fiscal year and November receipt of property tax payments. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Tom Gilbert, 1451 Waite Street, stated that he believed it was important to include free on-site parking for the new library to be constructed in the downtown area. He said that he supported the recommendation of the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee to reinstate the Library Board and described the benefits that had resulted from his service during its previous existence. He expressed appreciation for the work of the committee. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 27, 1998 Page 7 7:30 p.m.