Item A: Sequencing of Financial Measures to be Presented to Voters

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Permanent Funding for On-Going Services: In addition, prior to Measure 50 the City could propose a permanent increase in the City's tax rate in order to provide new services. Measure 50 removed that ability and funding for new services is limited to local option levies with a maximum length of five years for operating purposes and 10 years for capital purposes. The City has begun to rely on these temporary tax levies to provide library and youth/school-based services, which places these services at risk of losing their funding every four years. One solution to the temporary tax levy problem that has been proposed for several different services in recent years is creation of a special district that would be able to levy additional permanent taxes. The City has discussed the possibility of creating a special district for either fire services or airport services in recent years. Springfield has discussed providing fire services through a special district. The County has discussed a special district for public safety services. In general, the council has been unwilling to pursue the idea of a special district for any purpose, for a variety of reasons. League of Oregon Cities Workshop on Bonds and Ballots: In 2003, Councilors Pape and Solomon, along with City staff, attended a League of Oregon Cities (LOC) workshop on placing bond measures on the ballot. One of the basic messages from that workshop was that there are limited opportunities to ask voters to approve money measures and governments should be strategic about what they place on the ballot. The LOC will hold another workshop on this topic in January 2006 in Salem. Timing: In order to think strategically about opportunities for asking voters for additional funding, staff used the following set of questions to develop the tentative election schedule: 1. If applicable, what is the likelihood of a 50% turnout of registered voters? 2. At the time of the election, will voters have had the opportunity to consider the benefits and financial impact of the measure? 3. Will the proposed City measure(s) compete with each other or with measures offered by other jurisdictions? 4. Is the measure politically feasible? 5. When are the funds needed? 6. Is there an optimal time-frame in advance of needed funding in which to ask for voter approval in order to provide for multiple attempts, if necessary? 7. Are there any alternate funding mechanisms that could be used to pay for the service? The November 2006 election cycle is the next opportunity for an election without a double- majority requirement. Planning and preparing to place measures on the November 2006 ballot will take a significant period of time. The council must take action before going on break in early August of 2006 for a November 2006 ballot measure. Staff presentations leading up to a council decision to place a measure on the ballot for the library and youth/school-based services levies will be scheduled for late winter and spring. RELATED CITY POLICIES The Budget Committee adopted Financial Management Goals and Policies that guide financial decisions of the organization. The policies include statements related to the appropriate level of LICMOl200S Council AgendaslMOSll16lS0S1116A.doc