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GeneralfundedservicesinEugene,substantialtimewouldbeneeded <br />toallowforfullreviewanddiscussionbytheCityCouncilaswellasby <br />membersofthecommunity.Itwouldbereasonabletoexpectareferral <br />ofautilityfeeproposaltotheballot.Additionaltimewouldbeneeded <br />todeterminebilling,collectionandenforceprocesses.Itwouldlikely <br />takeatleasttwoyearstoimplementanewpublicserviceutilityfee. <br />Incidence&EquityAlloccupantsofdevelopedpropertywillbenefitfromcontinued <br />availabilityofthepublicservices,andallcouldbeequitablychargedthe <br />utilityfee.Publiclyownedornonprofitownedfacilitiesincluding <br />dormitoriesandgrouphousingwouldsubjecttothefee.TheCitycould <br />negotiatewhatfeelevelisappropriateratherthanapplyingastandard <br />rate,orthesefacilitiescouldbesubsidizedthroughanexemptionwhich <br />wouldshifttheirsharetootherpayers. <br />NexusThetypicalbasisforexistingpublicserviceutilityfeesinOregonisthe <br />occupancyoruseofadevelopedproperty,andthefeeistypicallylevied <br />asaflatfeeonresidentialandnonresidentialunits,oronresidential <br />unitsonly,dependingontheservicefunded.Thecostofthefunded <br />serviceisdistributedasasimpleaverageamongalloccupiedunits.This <br />basisrecognizestwokeypoints:(1)thegeneralityofthenexusbetween <br />thepublicservicefundedbythefeeandthecommonbenefitsprovided <br />bytheavailabilityandbroadusageoftheservicebyoccupantsof <br />developedpropertyacrossthecommunity,and(2)thelackofpractical <br />waystobasethefeeonactualmeasuredusageofthepublicservice. <br />Otherpossiblebasisforlevyingthefeebesidestheperunitbasis <br />includefloorareaorstreetfrontageofunits,numberoragesof <br />occupants,typeofunit,etc.Butthesewouldbearbitrarymeasures <br />unrelatedtoactualusageofthefundedservice,andwouldnotincrease <br />equity.Developingandmaintainingthiskindofpropertyspecificdata <br />maybedifficultandwouldlikelyhaveahigheradministrativecost <br />withoutachievingagreaterdegreeofequityinrelatingthefeeto <br />individualusageofthefundedservice. <br />ConsistencywithCouncilThisfeeisconsistentwithCouncilgoalsandpolicies. <br />Goals&Policies <br />Fairness&PoliticalFeasibilityThesuccessesofcitiesthathaveimplementedutilityfeesforpublic <br />servicesdemonstratesthatsuchfeescanbeseenasfairandcanbe <br />politicallyfeasible.However,asanewideafortheCityofEugene,itis <br />likelythatsubstantialdiscussionwouldberequiredbeforeaconsensus <br />onfairnessemergesandpoliticallyfeasibleisdetermined. <br />SustainabilityImpactThefeewouldhavenoadverseimpactonsustainabilitygoals. <br />Page 42 <br />