CC Minutes - 07/21/09 Joint Elected Officials

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He thought the leadership the chiefs brought would lead to a bright future. He was concerned about the "deal breakers" mentioned in the report and said that the elected officials would have to pay attention to those to make the recommendation work. He did not want to forget about the concerns of the Lane Rural Fire Protection District. Mr. Poling liked the direction the process was going and wanted to move forward. Mr. Goughnour suggested the elected officials take an opportunity to make a significant change given the confluence of events that did not come along very often, including the retirement of Chief Murphy. Ms. Lundberg agreed that events had created an opportunity for what might otherwise be an impossible scenario. She recalled that Springfield had looked at the formation of a new fire district in a different context. She agreed that the other local districts needed to be taken into consideration and should be part of the discussion. As the two communities went forward, she thought that the elected officials needed to remember that the creation of a new taxing district could be a major stumbling block if not well- executed. She suggested the elected officials take a considered approach to the formation of a special district because she thought there would be public resistance from the voting public to what appeared to merely be a shift of dollars from one taxing entity to another. Ms. Lundberg commended the work done by the two chiefs. She wanted more information about the dollar implications of a department merger. Mr. Caldwell attributed the interim steps recommended by ESCI to the need for more information about the financial impact of the merger and to inform the public and address its reaction. Mr. Ralston clarified with the consultants how they arrived at the tax rates and response times mentioned in the study. Mr. Ralston thought the two approaches available to the cities were an IGA and annexation to a fire district. He was concerned about the governance aspect of the issue and for that reason was not interested in forming a new fire district with its own governing board. He wanted more information. Mr. Goughnour noted the existing models that included councilors as members of the board of directors. Mr. Caldwell pointed out the IGA model would involve no change of governance. Mayor Piercy thought the councilors had a great deal to think about. She said the departments were ready to move forward, but the question was whether the community was ready. She suggested the councils think about what an ideal world would look like and take a positive approach toward the question. Mr. Ralston adjourned the special meeting of the Springfield City Council at 1:35 p.m. Mayor Piercy adjourned the special meeting of the Eugene City Council at 1:35 p.m. (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES —Joint Elected Officials — Springfield and Eugene July 21, 2009 Page 3 City Councils