CC Minutes - 04/11/11 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Responding to a question from Councilor Clark about the points made by Ms. Cuellar in regard to Section 2.2012, City Attorney Glenn Klein indicated that ordinance included a definition of "residence" and there would be administrative rules that governed the ordinance's implementation. Those rules were subject to public continent, and if there was a dispute about a residency, there would be an appeals process. Councilor Clark asked when the administrative rules would be prepared. City Attorney Klein anticipated the rules would be developed over the next two to three months when more was known about what entity would administer the tax. Councilor Clark asked about progress in that regard. Finance Manager Sue Cutsogeorge said staff had met with City of Portland staff to discuss the potential of Portland administering the tax. Councilor Clark asked how much that would cost. Ms. Cutsogeorge did not yet know. Councilor Clark asked if the costs of administration would be known before the election. Ms. Cutsogeorge did not think so. Councilor Clark referred to Section 2.006 of the ordinance, which spoke to the issue of residency. He asked if the City would compel Eugene employers to determine the residency of its employees and if there would be a reporting function for those employers. City Attorney Klein indicated that no decision had been made in that regard. Staff had discussed a structure that would enable voluntary withholding on the part of an employer if an employee wished for it. Councilor Clark asked if it would be mandatory for an employer to provide that option. City Attorney Klein did not know. He requested council direction in that regard. Councilor Clark did not support the idea. Councilor Poling observed that Section 3 of the ordinance called for the ordinance to be sunsetted, but a future council could vote to extend it. City Attorney Klein concurred. The council could change the ordinance and the voters could refer that decision. Councilor Poling recommended that the council amend the ordinance to stipulate the sunset could not be extended without the vote of the community. Mr. Klein pointed out a future council could amend the ordinance to eliminate that provision. He concurred with a statement from Councilor Poling that there was no way to stop a future council from extending the tax in the absence of a charter amendment. Councilor Brown asserted that the concern about a future council extending the ordinance was a "fake issue." A council majority could have already imposed an income tax for the schools without a vote. Instead, the council decided to refer the measure due to its importance. Councilor Brown guaranteed that no future council would extend the ordinance without a vote. He suggested that to do so would be to commit political suicide. Councilor Taylor agreed that the tax would be a temporary one. The voters would decide. She said a democracy depended on educated citizens, and she did not think Eugene students were getting a good education. She emphasized the importance of small class sizes to a good education and optimum teaching. Larger class sizes did not work. She thought it was crucial to address that issue in particular. She agreed that the jobs involved were also important. Better employers would not want to locate in Eugene without a good education system. Councilor Farr agreed with testimony suggesting that Oregon was overly dependent on the income tax. He said that the income tax added to volatility and finding uncertainty. He suggested a sales tax would have more of a lasting effect. He did not believe that an income tax proposal would fix the school funding problem. He determined from Ms. Cutsogeorge that Portland was willing to administer the tax. Councilor Zelenka determined from Ms. Cutsogeorge that she did not anticipate that the costs of administering the tax would be much greater than previous estimates. MINUTES— Eugene City Council April 11, 2011 Page 6 Regular Meeting