CC Minutes - 04/27/09 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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5. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Rental Housing Standards; Amending Section 8.425 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4997, an ordinance concerning rental housing standards. Councilor Clark thanked those who testified on the matter and those who served on the committee. He felt the ordinance represented a good compromise and protection for all parties. He was particularly pleased that it would not be necessary to add staff and potential fee reductions would be considered if excess revenue was collected. Councilor Poling stated he would support the ordinance because it addressed the specific type of mold related to faulty plumbing or problems with the building and not just bad housekeeping. Councilor Zelenka also thanked the committee for its work on a well-crafted, thoughtful recommendation. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 6. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Solid Waste Administrative Powers and Amending Section 3.250 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4999, an ordinance concerning solid waste administrative pow- ers. Councilor Clark stated that it was a bad idea to increase taxes at this time and the action was arbitrary and would place an undue burden on many residents. He urged a no vote on the motion. Becky Carlson, Public Works Department, reviewed the responses to public input and questions contained in Attachment A of the agenda item summary. She reminded the council that it was a surcharge on garbage haulers, not customers, and there was no requirement that the surcharge be passed on to customers. She said the surcharge would only apply to customers within the City limits and those properties were already identified by haulers. She also reviewed responses related to administration and collection of the surcharge, the impact on haulers revenue and impact on school districts. She noted that the council could consider a waiver or exemption for school districts, but that could create legal problems in defending the surcharge. She said a more appropriate mechanism for mitigating school district impact would be to develop options in the budget process to offset or reduce the increased fees using other City funding sources. She said a 100 percent offset to the schools would require about $19,000 annually and the City Attorney had been asked to prepare an amendment for the council’s consideration if they were interested in those options. Mayor Piercy asked if using garbage hauler fees to fund road repair and maintenance was an unusual practice. Ms. Carlson replied that many jurisdictions in Oregon levied fees on garbage haulers and used the revenue for a number of general government purposes, including road repair. Councilor Pryor remarked that the Council Committee on Transportation Funding Solutions had discussed the surcharge extensively and he was comfortable with the concept, but the timing of an additional fee was a concern because of the economy. He was also concerned with enacting a fee before it had been discussed as MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 27, 2009 Page 7