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MINUTES <br />Eugene City Council <br />Work Session <br />McNutt Room – City Hall <br />777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon <br />July 15, 2009 <br />12:00 p.m. <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, George Poling, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, <br />Jennifer Solomon, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz. <br />Ms. Piercy called the work session meeting of the Eugene City Council to order at 12:02 p.m. <br />A. WORK SESSION – An Ordinance Concerning Motor Vehicle Fuel Dealers' Business License <br />Tax and Repealing Section 3 of Ordinance No. 20337 <br />Public Works Director Kurt Corey provided an overview of the proposed amendment to Ordinance No. <br />20337 for the benefit of the council and described the history of the local gas tax since its inception in <br />2003. <br />Mr. Corey noted that the purpose of the proposed amendment to Ordinance No. 20337 was to effectively <br />make the five -cent local gas tax rate permanent by repealing the sunset provision on the two -cent fuel tax <br />rate increase enacted in 2005. <br />Mr. Corey reported that the proposed amendment was in response to House Bill 2001, a state transporta- <br />tion bill adopted in the most recent legislative session and which was due to become active in September of <br />2009. Mr. Corey expressed that while HB 2001 would ultimately provide approximately $3 million in <br />state highway funds, provisions of that bill would prevent local governments such as the City of Eugene <br />from enacting any new gas taxes before 2014 and then only with the consent of the voting public. <br />Mr. Corey provided a brief overview of the various preservation and improvement projects that had been <br />funded by the City's local gas tax. <br />Mr. Corey noted that the next steps regarding the proposed ordinance would be a public hearing on <br />Monday, July 20, followed by action on the matter on Monday, July 27, 2009. <br />Ms. Taylor strongly supported the proposed ordinance. <br />Mr. Poling noted that the proposed ordinance did not constitute a new tax, that the money was being spent <br />conscientiously, and that the public was generally not opposed to the local gas tax itself. He felt that <br />repealing the sunset provision as outlined in the ordinance would be a wise choice to help deal with the <br />massive Public Works operations and maintenance backlog. <br />Mr. Poling felt the precise amount of revenue to be generated by HB 2001 was relatively uncertain and <br />noted that he was therefore in favor of the ordinance before the council. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 15, 2009 Page 1 <br />Work Session <br />