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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MInutes - 04/13/98 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall April 13, 1998 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Fart, Tim Laue, Bobby Lee, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Betty Taylor, Ken Tollenaar. I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned April 6, 1998, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.; His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey presiding. II. MULTI-YEAR SERVICE AND FUNDING PLAN Mr. Tollenaar, chair of the Council Committee on Finance, provided background information, calling attention to the charts on the wall identifying the multi-year financial plan objectives and service initiatives previously adopted by the council. He identified the budget shortfall and reviewed page 9 of the meeting packet. He noted the committee's suggestion that voters be asked to approve a personal income tax and a business tax and indicated that affordable housing was one of the items to be addressed more in the off years rather than immediately. Mr. Tollenaar asked for the council's direction before refining the approach. Mr. Fart expressed disappointment that affordable housing would be addressed later, adding that it is part of the public safety problem. He said he could not support any measure that did not address affordable housing. Ms. Nathanson said it may be feasible to do a transportation utility fee (TUF) for the metro area, noting that people often do not live close to where they work and that contributes to the demand for maintenance and improvements. She asked staff to study the trend away from traditional employment and its effect on a personal income tax, particularly the reporting of income. Mayor Torrey announced that the three jurisdictions will hold a discussion on the TUF on April 28 and invited those interested to attend. In response to a question from Mr. Meisner, Mr. Tollenaar said a tax based on gross receipts was unfair to those businesses with high costs. Ms. Swanson Gribskov said she needed a picture of what the various taxes mean to the average household. Mr. Laue said he did not expect to adopt a plan tonight. Addressing Mr. Fart's concern with affordable housing, he suggested land banking as a way to address the problem in the short- term. He expressed support for a broad-based business tax--not any that targeted a specific group, e.g., a restaurant tax. Minutes--Eugene City Council April 13, 1998 Page 1 5:30 p.m. Mr. Farr reiterated his interest in addressing affordable housing within this context. Mr. Tollenaar said the committee believed it could not be drafted into either the TUF or income tax or the General Fund (GF) budget, and an alternative tax form was more appropriate. Jim Carlson, Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), reviewed the charts on the wall and described the committee's process. Addressing a question from Ms. Swanson Gribskov, he explained how a TUF might be designed, noting other communities had imposed such a fee based on the trips generated. Ms. Nathanson reminded the council of previous council committee work on such a tax. Public Works Director Chris Andersen said the work was included as background for the Council Committee on Finance's work. Mayor Torrey said staff was instructed to find alternatives to using the Eugene Water & Electric Board's (EWEB) system as that method was quite expensive. Administrative Services Director Warren Wong said the charter only requires EWEB to bill for the City's sewer fees. Mr. Carlson said the committee needed direction as the required ordinance establishing the TUF was a time-consuming process and a committee would likely be asked to create the methodology for implementation. Addressing a question from Mr. Farr, Mr. Laue said the council may choose to refer the TUF rather than implement it by ordinance. Ms. Swanson Gribskov asked for analysis of any other communities in Oregon that have imposed any of these taxes. She said the council might choose to establish a TUF district that encompasses the urban growth boundary (UGB). Ms. Nathanson wondered if there is an appropriate check-in on the TransPlan to entertain transportation needs versus resources. Mayor Torrey said there would likely be no support for the discussion, but probably could get approval for assigning it to a committee. Addressing a question from Mr. Laue, Ms. Andersen said the TransPlan was financially constrained, which needed to be discussed with the other jurisdictions. She noted the City's immediate problem of not having sufficient resources for preservation of its existing system. Ms. Nathanson asked for information on the City's share of the State gas tax and the County Road Fund. Ms. Andersen indicated that presently the City receives $5+ million from the State gas tax and $1.5 million from the County in 1999. Ms. Nathanson asked staff to compare the expenditures of all the jurisdictions. Mr. Carlson said Chapter 3 of TransPlan discusses the subject and concludes that for Eugene and Springfield, the shortfall is in operations, maintenance, and preservation (having sufficient capital to construct major projects). The County's and State's shortfalls are the opposite--on the capital side. Mr. Carlson said the TUF is a good tool for operations and maintenance. City Manager Jim Johnson recalled a County staff discussion about residential roads in unincorporated areas that it was unable to maintain so there may be some interest in a financing mechanism to alleviate the problem. Minutes--Eugene City Council April 13, 1998 Page 2 5:30 p.m. Mr. Meisner said the council should pursue the TUF, but it should be considered regionally. In response to a question from Mr. Laue, Mr. Klein said the City could impose a TUF without the County's consent, but only for the area within the city limits. Mr. Tollenaar reminded the council that the County payments to cities were not entitlements. Regarding the personal income tax, he said, the options included levying the tax on city residents or on income earned within the city limits. Ms. Swanson Gribskov noted council interest in the TUF, probably with an interjurisdictional committee to make recommendations. She asked for the election time line. Mr. Wong said the filing deadline for a March election is in January but the council would need to decide by fall. Ms. Swanson Gribskov asked if the time line worked for the Parks Committee and the Library Committee. Both Councilors Nathanson and Meisner said the time line worked for the committees Mr. Meisner expressed interest in a March election, noting that the public was familiar with everything on the list, including potential taxes to fund services. He supported the idea of a land bank for affordable housing in addition to using income taxes. Mayor Torrey noted the importance of the May election, saying that if the double majority is voted down, the sense of urgency disappears. Ms. Taylor spoke in favor of some form of business tax and land banking. She reiterated her interest in holding the Finance Committee discussion with the entire council. She said she opposed the TUF as unfair to Iow-income people. Ms. Taylor asked the council to consider restoring recreation services for seniors and children as part of the budget process. Mr. Lee reminded councilors that all committee meetings are public meetings. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Laue, to amend the committee's recom- mendation by placing affordable housing in the PIT/BIT for 1999. Mr. Farr spoke in support of his motion, adding that a well-phrased measure may gain public support. Ms. Taylor cautioned against placing too many items within a measure. The motion to amend passed unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Nathanson urged the jurisdictions to find areas of common interest as a place to look for solutions together. Responding to her question about whether the user fee charged to Library patrons who live outside the city limits is sufficient to cover operations and maintenance, Mr. Johnson said that since 1959, the fee has been applied to operations. Ms. Nathanson said the issue was raised by a citizen and the council should think about that whenever something is constructed that will be used by more than Eugene residents. Mr. Laue noted that most of the proposed taxes can be implemented without a vote and suggested the council consider doing just that, particularly spending urban renewal funds for Library capital expenditures-with bonding for operations. He did not recommend postponing a Minutes--Eugene City Council April 13, 1998 Page 3 5:30 p.m. tax measure to 1999 because it will be the responsibility of a new council--in effect, putting off the question. Mr. Lee said there needed to be further discussion on the TUF. He urged the council to address the adequate level of funding for the GF first-what he called "taking care of internal business." He did not think the public mood called for "drastic moves." Mr. Tollenaar said he agreed that the need to stabilize the GF for general services was very important but pointed out that the $2-$3 million gap would not be an issue for about three years. In the meantime, he asked the council to make a great effort to solve the problems essential to the livability of the community. Mr. Tollenaar suggested that before committing staff resources to analyzing any particular tax, the council should decide which one(s) it wants to move forward with. Mr. Meisner said he would support a BIT and PIT, not either/or. He disagreed with Mr. Lee's analysis on funding essential GF services with a tax measure, saying the public was more interested in the "hot issues" such as parks and open spaces and the library. Ms. Taylor said she was interested in seeing the council enact those taxes it was authorized to implement to restore GF services. She said she would favor funding cultural and recreation services over community policing. Mr. Lee clarified that he favored a PIT/BIT. Mr. Farr said he was not sure he could support a PIT, much less a BIT, which he said placed businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Ms. Nathanson said there might be a way of coming to a policy consensus on what is funded by keeping in mind "a healthy community" and what that means. Mayor Torrey said he could not support a PIT or BIT without a vote. Mr. Wong said the item will come back to the council on April 22 and by that time there will be more information on what the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) plans to propose and also what public sentiment is around urban renewal following the public hearing this evening and further council discussion on April 20. He summarized the discussion by saying he heard direction to pursue analysis of a billing system for the TUF and analyze the PIT/BIT further. Mayor Torrey asked staff to consider both $50,000 and $100,000 caps for the BIT. Mr. Wong announced a meeting of the Council Committee on Finance at 9 a.m. on April 15. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager Pro Tem (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) R:~1998~Admin Services~CIS ~Council~CC980413. Ml. wpd Minutes--Eugene City Council April 13, 1998 Page 4 5:30 p.m.