Item C: Telecommunications Tax Fund

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would have pre-empted any business-specific local taxation. Attachment D describes the 2005 State legislative telecommunications environment. Attachment E is a 2005 telecommunications legal, regulatory, and legislative update. ?Soon after Eugene’s six-year litigation was decided, referendums were employed in two Oregon cities, Eugene and Springfield, supported by the telecommunications industry. Signatures were collected but not submitted in Eugene. A Springfield signature drive resulted in a ballot election which resulted in the repeal of their new utility tax program. On the Congressional level, so far in 2005, four federal proposals impacting provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Act have been introduced in Congress marking the beginning of a probable comprehensive re-write of the 1996 act that will impact local ROW management and compensation, local cable franchising, cell tower zoning and siting criteria, local taxation, and Internet-enabled voice and video services. At this time, municipal associations have an “oppose” position on three of the four bills. The fourth, 77 pages long, was prepared as a House Committee staff draft, amended once in early November by staff, and contains industry-supported provisions of concern to local governments. RELATED CITY POLICIES 1. The 1997 City of Eugene Telecommunications Vision and Policies guided the implementation of Ordinance 20083. These remain un-amended. 2. The 1999 Council Committee on Telecommunications Directive: Transition project proposal, review and approval activities to City Manager administrative process. City council goals and related departmental priorities, plans and needs assessments form the decision-making criteria. 3. Financial Management Policy C.6. (non-recurring revenues): Except for local option levies approved by the voters, the City will use non-recurring revenue on limited-duration services, capital projects, equipment requirements, or services that can be terminated without significant disruption to the community or City organization. COUNCIL OPTIONS 1. Maintain the program as currently operated. 2. Set aside a recommended $1 million for an Equipment Reserve Fund (ERF) and a recommended $700,000 annually for new City telecommunications technology projects, transferring the balance of reserves and on-going revenue to the General Fund. 3. Eliminate the Telecommunication Tax Fund and allocate all of the revenue to the General Fund. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends Option 1. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to maintain the current program operations of the Telecommunication Tax Fund.