CCMinutes - 06/23/04 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Attorney Jerry Lidz stated that Mr. Meisner's motion fell within the City Council's power. He did not read the motion as a direction to the City Manager as to what the manager could or could not do. Ms. Bettman said that the issue had been raised before the Budget Committee and this was why the council had been ~dragged into the middle of it." Ms. Bettman expressed concern that, should an emergency truly arise, the fire fighters from the City would be put at risk by having to work with people they had not trained with and also who had less training. She stressed that the Eugene Police Department (EPD) had not been asked to cut costs and noted that the City was on record for saying that public safety was a top priority. Mayor Torrey called for a motion to extend time. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Kelly, moved to extend the time for discus- sion by five minutes. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Torrey stated that he had supported the fire fighters in his 13 years of service as mayor. He supported paying them well and providing the best benefits for them. He commended union president Gary Nauta for the work he was doing to represent the union. He could not agree, however, that it was in the best interest of the City to diminish the capacity of the City Manager to negotiate with the bargaining units. He urged the City Council not to micro-manage the City Manager. He stressed that Police and Fire services were held in high esteem and would never be privatized. He added that there was an opportunity for binding arbitration. Mr. Meisner agreed with Ms. Bettman that the political process was invoked and the collective bargaining was tainted by staff's ~ill-advised" decision to ask the Budget Committee to %ndorse" the privatization during the budget process. He pointed out that the airport doubled the required staffing and equipment. He asked staff to provide completely accurate comparisons between airports. He felt the sum numbers were not completely representative of the services provided by the airport. Ms. Nathanson reiterated that an executive session was necessary in order to discuss matters pertaining to collective bargaining. Ms. Nathanson, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to table the discussion un- til it could be held in an executive session. The vote on the motion was a 4:4 tie; Mr. Poling, Mr. Pap~, Ms. Solomon, and Ms. Nathanson voting in favor, and Mr. Kelly, Ms. Bettman, Ms. Taylor, and Mr. Meisner voting in opposition. Mayor Torrey voted in favor of tabling the item and the motion passed on a final vote of 5:4. Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting of the City Council and convened a meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency at 12:50 p.m. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 23, 2004 Page 4 Work Session