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Mark Callahan , 3621 Mahlon Avenue, Ward 4, stated that his trash bill every three months was about $110. He received a $4.50 credit for filling up a container with his recyclables. He did not want his credit to go for a tax on something. He had lived in Eugene for most of his life. He averred that Eugene had a green economy and said if his credit for recycling was eaten up by a tax, he would have less motivation to recycle. Brian Bales , 88604 Oakhill Cemetery Road, co-owner of Royal Refuse Service, said it seemed that the garbage companies were the only companies the City could “get a handle on” to try to tax. He thought it was unfair. He estimated that the garbage companies combined contributed between $750,000 and $1 million to the City in license fees. He said if one took a dollar earned by the garbage haulers, about half of it went to “some government organization.” He believed that the fee would create a hardship on struggling companies and homes and predicted that there would be more illegal dumping. He predicted that it would be a nightmare. He said it would also create a nightmare for his bookkeeping. Scott Bales , 29480 Airport Road, co-owner of Royal Refuse Service, referred to some staff notes that indicated that the 2007 recommendation for a package of road funding solutions from the Council Committee on Transportation Funding noted that garbage service customers from all sectors would pay the fee regardless of whether they were private, public, or non-profit entities. He believed that the intention was to spread the impact of the surcharge across the community so that everyone would pay a little toward the funding of a well-maintained street system. He did not understand why the City was so “desperate” to start a new tax. He stated that 10 percent of the citizens would not contribute because they either “self-hauled” or used someone else’s dumpster. It seemed to him that in a democratic society everyone was supposed to contribute or vote. It made him wonder why there was not a 1.5 percent gas tax on the May ballot. He asserted that the City would rather “back door” a surcharge on garbage bills. He related that over half of the current garbage bill was due to Lane County user fees, which were set to increase by $2 per ton in August. He reiterated that another six percent of the fee was attributable to license fees from the City. He considered this to be “double taxation.” He averred that the bottom line was that this increase would affect agencies in need such as St. Vincent DePaul and public agencies such as the County Jail. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing and called for councilors’ comments. Councilor Zelenka agreed “whole heartedly” that a gas tax would be better. He noted that one had just been voted down in Springfield and the transportation bill that had just been passed at the state level would prohibit the City from increasing its tax for five years. He asked Mr. Corey to review what the current funds and current deficit were for the street repairs. Mr. Corey stated that the backlog of deferred maintenance, work that should have been completed by now but had not been completed, was approximately $173 million based upon 2008 figures. He said the operations and maintenance, for which the garbage surcharge was earmarked, was short by $3 to $4 million on an ongoing basis. He related that the proposed surcharge would provide $900,000 annually for it. He reported that the funding that was currently in place was primarily derived from the State Highway Trust Fund, which was comprised mostly of the state gas tax together with user fees and other funding mechanisms. He said about $6.5 million annually was being provided by the bond measure for deferred maintenance and there were also some transportation SDCs. He added that the other major portion of the cost was contributed by the five-cent gas tax. Councilor Zelenka ascertained from Mr. Corey that there was still a $4 million deficit annually, of which $3 million would be coming from the transportation bill. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 8, 2009 Page 7 Regular Meeting