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<br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER <br /> <br />July 16, 2009 <br /> <br /> City of Eugene <br />777 Pearl Street, Room 105 <br /> <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 <br /> (541) 682-5010 <br /> (541) 682-5414 (FAX) <br /> www.eugene-or.gov <br /> <br />IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION <br />CELEBRATE SUMMER READING AT TEDDY BEAR PICNIC <br />MUNICIPAL COURT OFFERS AMNESTY ON COLLECTION ACCOUNTS <br />FEDERAL GRANT ALLOWS RECREATION TO ADD AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING <br />CITY ALIVE WITH SOUND OF MUSIC <br />TEMPORARY COFFERDAM ALLOWS IMPROVEMENTS AT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT <br /> <br />AROUND THE CITY <br />Celebrate Summer Reading at Teddy Bear Picnic <br />Eugene Public Library invites families with young children to the <br />annual – and adorable -- Teddy Bear Picnic on Saturday, July 25, <br />11:00 – noon. Held in the park at Amazon Community Center, this <br />free event features music and fun with the McCornack’s Garden <br />Variety Band. Bring snacks or a picnic lunch – plus teddy bears <br />and other stuffed friends. <br /> <br />For more information about free Summer Reading events for kids, <br />visit the Library’s calendar at www.eugene-or.gov/library or call the <br />Eugene Public Library at 682-8316. <br /> <br />Municipal Court Offers Amnesty on Collection Accounts <br />Individuals seen at the Eugene Municipal Court have been directly <br />affected by the poor economy and continue to have difficulty meeting their financial obligations to the court. Many <br />of the defendants fail to pay their fines and are referred to the court’s collection agency, Professional Credit <br />Services (PCS), for further collection efforts. Often accounts sent to PCS include cases in which a defendant’s <br />driver license has been suspended because of unpaid traffic citations. <br /> <br />In light of the current economic environment, Judge Wayne Allen and Municipal Court staff have determined that <br />an “amnesty” program, allowing defendants to apply for partial relief of debt, will be beneficial for the community <br />and the court. In many cases, a defendant who pays his debt to the court will be able to re-acquire his driver <br />license. It will also allow individuals to clean up their credit without the task being quite so overwhelming. Having a <br />valid driver license and achieving a better financial credit-standing will assist in finding employment and becoming <br />financially stable. <br /> <br />Eugene Municipal Court has negotiated a program with PCS in which Eugene offers a 25% reduction on the <br />current principal amount owing at the collection agency and PCS waives all interest due on an account. The <br />discount will apply to all accounts that have been or will be referred to the collection agency during the term of the <br />program. Applicable accounts include unpaid fines for misdemeanors, violations, traffic citations and parking <br />tickets. One condition of the program is that the all Municipal Court accounts must be paid-in-full since no payment <br />plans will be offered. PCS will be responsible for managing the program, collection of the debt and remittance to <br />the City. Based on amnesty programs offered by other public entities, Municipal Court is expecting significant <br />interest. <br /> <br />The amnesty program is scheduled to be released to the public on July 20, 2009. The program will run until <br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 <br />July 16, 2009 <br />