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February 26, 2010 <br />Joint Elected Officials Meeting <br />City of Springfield <br />City of Eugene <br />Lane County <br /> <br />Page 12 of 13 <br /> <br /> <br />They didn’t qualify for some grants because their euthanasia rates were low. In doing research of <br />shelters, they found that there was a lot of participation from private organizations and individuals. <br /> <br />Councilor Clark asked about the revenue-sharing formula with the City of Eugene for licensing. <br /> <br />Ms. Gaffney said the contract with the City of Eugene had a base of general funds that came to LCAS. <br />LCAS kept 100 percent of the licensing revenue up to a cap that was recently raised by $100,000 (total <br />of about $260,000). Any licensing revenue above that amount went back to the City of Eugene. <br /> <br />Councilor Clark asked if changing that formula would affect how many dogs were licensed. <br /> <br />Ms. Gaffney said increasing it by $100,000 was critical because it gave LCAS the opportunity to let <br />the public know that 100 percent of the license fee went towards animal services. Until last year, <br />LCAS had never come close to that cap, but last year they had. Being able to sell more licenses and <br />use that revenue to support animal services had made a big difference to the services they could <br />provide. <br /> <br />Councilor Clark asked if raising the cap increased revenue. <br /> <br />Ms. Gaffney said it did. It provided an incentive to the County. <br /> <br />Councilor Wylie said there were gas taxes for roads and alcohol and drug taxes for treatment. She <br />asked about a nickel a bag tax on dry dog food. It could be a state initiative. Pet owners wouldn’t mind <br />spending the extra nickel for additional services. <br /> <br />Ms. Gaffney said that idea had been raised in the past. <br /> <br />Commissioner Fleenor said that had been tried, but met with resistance. It was a good idea. A Lane <br />County Animal Regulatory Authority (LCARA) task force looked at that as a possible revenue source <br />and heard from lobbyists all the way from Washington D.C., in opposition. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy said she was willing to look at short-term solutions, and was amendable to looking more <br />broadly at all animal services. She felt this had to be in the context of everything else that needed <br />attention, and prioritized. She appreciated today’s conversation because it was a good illustration of <br />the jurisdictions working together, but these conversations were two-way streets. The larger <br />conversation was about purviews and responsibilities on all fronts. Because of the shortfalls in <br />funding, the jurisdictions had to look at things differently and carefully. There were areas in which the <br />County was no longer able to provide services, and cities had to step up to cover those services. She <br />thought the license plate was a great idea. She agreed with private/public partnership. They needed to <br />look together at cross-jurisdictional goals and the order of these projects. <br /> <br />Councilor Poling said if they had a work session on this subject, he would like to see the breakdown of <br />the enforcement ordinances in Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County. <br /> <br />Commissioner Fleenor asked if this could go to each City Council for a work session first, then report <br />back to the full JEO. <br /> <br />