Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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he had declined to accept Councilor Poling’s suggested revisions to Section 3 of the resolution, which related to how the funds freed by stopping the wars would be used, because he found it overly specific. Section 3 of the proposed resolution currently read as follows: Section 3. The financial resources used to prosecute the war be redirected, as they become available, to address the urgent needs of the most vulnerable portions of Eugene’s population, including education, health, and full benefits for returning veterans, as well as to fund the creation of jobs, full functioning of schools, rebuilding of our infrastructure, and development of non-carbon-producing alternatives for our energy needs. City Attorney Glenn Klein noted the four versions of the resolution being considered by the council: 1) Resolution—Bring War Funds Home—with Poling’s amendments—CLEAN; 2) Resolution—Bring War Funds Home—Brown’s Version with amendments—TRACK CHANGES; 3) Resolution—Bring War Funds Home—Brown’s with amendments—CLEAN; and 4) Councilor Poling’s proposed changes to Councilor Brown’s resolution. Councilor Brown clarified that his motion was specific to the resolution labeled Resolution—Bring War Funds Home—Brown’s with amendments—TRACK CHANGES. Councilor Poling did not object to Section 1 if revised to read “The Council of the City of Eugene, on behalf of the people of Eugene, urge President Obama to speed up the ending of these wars by beginning withdrawal of forces in a safe, rapid, and orderly fashion that fully protects American troops from harm and to support efforts led by international organizations to rebuild both countries.” He objected to the use of the word “occupation” in Section 2, suggesting “war” was a more accurate description. While he doubted any additional money would come to Eugene if the wars ended, Councilor Poling said his revisions to Section 3 spoke to his funding priorities. His revised section read as follows: Section 3. The financial resources used to finance the war be redirected, if they become available to the City of Eugene, to the following priority list: 1) Full benefits for returning veterans and veterans of all wars, 2) Increase and maintain personnel of the Eugene Police Department and the Eugene Fire and Emergency Services Department to meet national staffing standards, 3) Increase workforce development and job creation, 4) Rebuilding of our infrastructure, and 5) Public health and social safety net., which included full benefits for veterans, sufficient funding for police and fire services to meet national standards, workforce development, infrastructure reconstruction, and the public health and safety net. Councilor Poling shared the national standards for fire personnel, reporting the national average was 1.72 firefighters per 1,000 residents; Eugene had 1.07 firefighters per 1,000 residents. The national average for sworn police officers was 2.3 officers per 1,000 residents; Eugene had 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents. Councilor Poling move to substitute the resolution labeled Councilor Poling’s proposed changes to Councilor Brown’s resolution for the resolution before the council. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilor Zelenka expressed appreciation to CALC for the resolution. He noted the number of solider deaths, injuries, and suicides, as well as the extensive loss of civilian life in Iraq. He said it was long past time to end the country’s involvement in Iraq. The war had cost the community $345 million and that money could have been spent on education, job creation, public safety, human services, and veterans care. He believed it was time to redirect the money being spent on the war to domestic priorities. He supported MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 27, 2011 Page 4 Regular Meeting