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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 03/13/02 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall March 13, 2002 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: David Kelly, Gary Pap~, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Pat Farr, Gary Rayor, Bonny Bettman. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Betty Taylor. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. A.Action: Resolution 4715 Approving a Waiver of Employment Requirements for a Property Tax Exemption to Hynix Semiconductor Manufacturing America, Inc., for its Operations in the West Eugene Enterprise Zone Mr. Kelly noted his opposition to the motion he was about to offer in his role as Council President. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. Pap~, moved to approve Resolution 4715, a resolution approving a waiver of employment requirements for property tax exemption to Hynix Semiconductor Manufacturing America, Inc., for its operations in the West Eugene Enterprise Zone. Mayor Torrey called for council comment. Mr. Kelly said that the council should not fool itself that the amount to be directed to the schools by the agreement was a major salvation. He acknowledged that every dollar for the schools was a good dollar, but the estimated benefit from the action for School District 4J was about $300,000 annually over a three-year period. He noted that the district's shortfall for fiscal year 2003 was $8 million. Ms. Bettman also opposed the motion. She believed the appropriate venue to address the school funding shortfall was the State Legislature. She said that the exemption was not going to solve Hynix's financial problems or determine its future. She said that taxpayers could not afford the corporate giveaway, which they pay for in cuts in City-provided services, including public safety services. Ms. Bettman said that there were those who support the resolution as a way to counter the allegations from certain factions that the City was anti-business. She said she thought the subsidy was not business-friendly, but "downright obsequious." MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 2002 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Meisner also opposed the motion. He said that the City was giving up an opportunity to provide substantial economic development assistance to other companies. He did not understand that. Mr. Rayor said he had nothing to add to his comments of March 11. He supported the motion. Ms. Taylor also opposed the motion, agreeing with the comments of Mr. Kelly, Ms. Bettman, and Mr. Meisner, saying it was outrageous that the council was giving money to one company when there were many other unmet needs in the City, including transportation funding. She was very upset that the council was contemplating the action. She said the amount involved was small to the school districts and the company, but it was money that the City could use and only part of what it needed. Ms. Nathanson pointed out that Hynix would be getting less than half of what it originally requested from the City in terms of the exemption. She thought the agreement reached was a good one, and noted the inclusion of performance guarantees in the agreement that were not present before, about which she was very happy. She supported the motion. Mr. Fart acknowledged the concerns of those in opposition to the motion but said he was not yet convinced that $350,000 was not a lot of money; he suggested it could perhaps fund 15 teachers, which was a big impact. He had also not been convinced that the presence of Hynix was not good for the remainder of the business community, including small businesses. He thought the agreement would work to the benefit of both the company and community. Mr. Pap~ did not perceive having Hynix pay taxes of between $1.5 million and $1.2 million as a corporate giveaway. He said he had spoken to some school principals and the chair of the 4J School Board, who did not perceive the money as being insignificant, and they were excited to receive the money. He supported the motion. Mayor Torrey recalled testimony offered to the council when the company came to Eugene in 1995 that the jobs created by Hynix would not be high-paying jobs. He said that the average compensation provided to its employees by Hynix was among the highest in the community. The council also heard testimony the company would not be environmentally sensitive, but its reporting to the Toxics Right-to-Know program argued against that. Mayor Torrey did not think the council's action would affect Hynix's future in the community, but he thought the council's action could impact the decision of other companies about staying in the community. He said that although the City's original agreement with the company did not state that it would give the company the tax incentive if its employment rate went down, the City had not stipulated anything about requiring companies not to take advantage of improved technology that might reduce the number of employees needed. Mayor Torrey said that in the event of a tie, he would vote in favor of the motion. The vote on the motion was a 4:4 tie; Ms. Nathanson, Mr. Farr, Mr. PapS, and Mr. Rayor voting yes; Mr. Meisner, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Kelly, and Ms. Bettman voting no; Mayor Torrey cast a vote in support of the motion, and the final vote on the motion was 5:4. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 2002 Page 2 Work Session Mayor Torrey noted the length of time the next agenda item would likely take, and asked the council if it supported switching the order of items B and C. Concern was expressed about the complexity and timeliness of agenda item B. Mr. Rayor moved to discuss Item C until 12:45 p.m. The motion died for lack of a second. B.Executive Session The Eugene City Council met in executive session pursuant to ORS 192.660(1)(h). Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Carlson City Manager pro tern (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 2002 Page 3 Work Session