Item A: FY10 Budget Strategies to Maintain Road Fund Service Levels

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fee for street O&M is a significant change in practice in the use of user fees from City-owned utilities, the council will also be asked on March 9, to adopt a resolution stating council’s support for imposing the new 8% right-of-way use fee on City stormwater and wastewater utility user fees revenues and the council’s intent that the revenues generated there be used for the repair, maintenance, operation and preservation of City-owned roads and streets (see Attachment B). Transportation Surcharge on Garbage Haulers – The second revenue mechanism being proposed for funding the street operations and maintenance service system is a City transportation surcharge assessed on the revenues collected by solid waste haulers operating in the city. The transportation surcharge would be assessed against solid waste haulers to better reflect the physical and financial impact that their operations impose on the city street system as a result of heavy hauler vehicles running on the majority of city streets every week. This surcharge would be assessed against solid waste haulers on the premise that heavy solid waste trucks cause significantly more damage to city streets than do other categories of lighter vehicles and run largely on local streets, which do not hold up as well under heavy vehicle use. The surcharge also represents fair compensation for private use of the right of way, a public asset that haulers rely on to deliver their services. The garbage hauler surcharge is being proposed as a flat percentage of the hauler fees and would vary by account, based on the frequency of collection service and the customer category. The City Manager’s $1.8 million for FY10 proposal is for a 10% transportation surcharge, which is estimated to generate and would increase the bill for a residential customer with weekly 32-gallon service by an additional $1.97 per month, while commercial customers would see a proportionate 10% increase in their bills for garbage service. Next Steps: In moving forward with the implementation of this new transportation surcharge on solid waste haulers, the City Manager intends to schedule a public hearing on April 20, to receive public comment on the proposed amendments to Eugene City Code that would permit the transportation surcharge on solid waste hauler fees to be used for the repair, maintenance, operation and preservation of City-owned roads and streets (see Attachment C). Action on those proposed amendments is scheduled for April 27. Also on April 27, the council will consider proposed action on a resolution stating the council’s support for imposing the new transportation surcharge on solid waste hauler fees and its intent that the revenues generated there be used for the repair, maintenance, operation and preservation of City-owned roads and streets (see Attachment D). RELATED COUNCIL GOALS AND POLICIES The council’s Vision and Goals Statement with respect to Fair, Stable and Adequate Financial Resources reaffirms commitment to “a local government whose ongoing financial resources are based on a fair and equitable system of taxation and other revenue sources and are adequate to maintain and deliver municipal services.” The goal of the current council Transportation Initiative is to “Develop mechanisms to adequately fund Eugene’s transportation system for cars, trucks, bikes and pedestrians, including maintenance and preservation and capital reconstruction.” Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090218\S090218A.doc