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Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes
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Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes
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success and economic and cultural contributions to the Eugene community. <br /> <br />We also welcome new leaders in our community this year—Lane County Administrator Liane Richardson <br />and Lane Transit District General Manager Ron Kilcoyne—and we wish them well. <br /> <br />This evening I’m going to speak very frankly with you about the current status of our city and how we will <br />move forward. As you know, things aren’t easy for a lot of people. Our task is to continue to be steady at <br />the helm and focus on getting where we want to go. <br /> <br />I’d like to be here tonight telling you that things will be much in better in 2012. But, in truth, the uncertain <br />financial forecast continues to impact every government and every household. No matter what I read or who <br />I listen to, the news isn’t very good. <br /> <br />Congress appears to be immobilized and the recovery from the recession is predicted to be slow. Econo- <br />mists tell us that by 2020, we still will not be back to where we were before the recession. In Eugene our <br />unemployment numbers—10.5 percent—may be slightly better than the nation—10.8 percent--the state— <br />12.7 percent—or the county—12.8 percent—but they still are way too high. <br /> <br />We live in a state and county with shrinking revenues and growing needs. As the second largest city in the <br />state of Oregon, much of the need and its impacts are ours to address. We simply have no choice but to help <br />each other through these tough times. <br /> <br />It’s up to us to keep our city moving. <br /> <br />They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. That’s what we have been doing and will continue <br />to do. We’ve provided services and balanced our budget. We’ve been accountable. We’ve shrunk our <br />footprint by tightening our belt, just like you. You can give big kudos to our City Council, City Manager <br />Jon Ruiz and City staff for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of us all. <br /> <br />We’ve worked to keep our city safe, to protect and develop jobs, to build affordable housing, to keep our <br />neighborhoods livable, our parks and library accessible, recreation and cultural activities available, our <br />roads repaired, our water and air clean, and our social services intact. We know these services are <br />particularly essential in these tough times. As an organization, we’ve made over $20 million in cuts thus far <br />and the end may not yet be in sight. We’ve been smart and innovative. We’ve done this with the help of <br />many volunteers and partners. This is exactly what we’ll have to continue to do together. I’m not saying it <br />will be easy. I am saying it’s the work of each and every one of us. <br /> <br />Let’s take a moment to enjoy what we’ve gotten done since last year. <br /> <br />Our library earned one of the highest ratings in the country and usage has increased. <br /> <br />We had great cultural events like the Bach Festival and production of Wicked that attracted people from <br />both far and near. <br /> <br />We’ve added to our Rivers to Ridges trail system. <br /> <br />We’ve made $43 million in road repairs over the last three years. That’s more repairs than ever in the <br />history of Eugene, providing 495 well-paying jobs. We did that by supporting the gas tax and road bond. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—State of the City January 5, 2012 Page 3 <br /> <br />
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