The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About03/10/1997 Work Session (2) City of Springfield Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 10,1997 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Springfield Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 10, 1997, at 9:37 p.m. with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Finance Director Bob Duey and members of staff. 1. Ballot Measure 47 City Manager Mike Kelly stated Councilor Burge will be absent during the Goal Setting Session scheduled for March 15, and Councilor Maine would be absent from the regular session council meeting on March 17, 1997. Mr. Kelly led a discussion about the possible tax measure being created in Salem, and how those tax measure discussions impacts us, and whether or not the city wishes to consider a companion measure to be placed on the May ballot. . Mayor Morrisette said he received a call from Mayor Torrey of Eugene in which he said the City of Eugene is moving forward with a full replacement measure in May. Mr. Kelly mentioned Finance Director Bob Duey had some handouts available that summarized what the city currently knows about Ballot Measure 47 and the state proposed replacement tax. Mr. Kelly asked if council wanted to proceed with a ballot title and a resolution for consideration at their work session on March 17, to decide whether or not to go forward with a May ballot for a Ballot Measure 47 replacement tax. Mr. Kelly mentioned time was critical and he needed guidance as to how to proceed. Councilor Maine stated she was not in favor of putting a measure together in a week. She stated there is a real difference of opinion in Salem whether the Ballot Measure 47 replacement will even go forward, much less get passed. Mayor Morrisette stated it would be relatively easy to describe the things that the city would preserve (police patrol, planning services, library hours, etc.) with a replacement levy. Councilor Burge stated his concern over the argument in which the city would use if the council did support a replacement tax measure. He commented the departments of Police and Fire will not be greatly impacted by Ballot Measure 47, and public safety is the utmost concern by citizens. . Councilor Beyer argued the city was having trouble funding basic services prior to Ballot Measure 47. She said she does not have a problem putting a replacement tax out for the voters to decide if they would like enhanced public services. There was discussion about the intent of Ballot Measure 47, what interpretations the Legislature may make, and how certain interpretations could affect Springfield. In one scenario, Councilor Beyer stated local government cuts could be increased by the Legislature. . . ~ ~ City of Springfield Work Session - 3/10/97 Page 2 Ms. Stein said the Legislature is crafting a constitutional measure, are including a provision regarding Ballot Measure 47 language, and explained how the legislative assembly could take action to allocate reductions in tax revenues. Ms. Stein reported the Legislature is proposing a 17 percent rollback in statewide taxes and they are debating whether or not they'll do that proportionally or if they'll pick and choose. Mr. Kelly framed the issue and said staff was not advocating there be a May ballot. He eXplained the intent was only to follow what the Legislature is doing and report on what potential impact it could have on the city. Mr. Kelly said there appears at the current time to be an advantage of having a May ballot along with the state's new replacement measure, as it would ensure the city's financial future. Council discussed the merits of a replacement tax. They shared their personal views on whether or not the city should attempt to draft a ballot title for the May election. Councilor Burge stated council should live with Ballot Measure 47, just like the citizens of Springfield intended them to do by voting for it. He said citizens may not like the service deliveries which will result from government reductions, but they did support it and council should follow the choice of the citizens. Mr. Kelly said he has until early April to prepare the city's budget for the Budget Committee's consideration. Mr. Kelly reminded council that cuts were minimized in the public safety departments because council felt that was the will of the citizens. These smaller reductions to public safety have placed a larger burden on other city departments. For budget year 1997-98, reductions total $1.7 million and are just the first round expected, as additional cuts totaling $1 million must be made in FY 98-99. Councilor Shaver said staff is good at providing council with both information and consequences concerning issues. He stated council could not make a wise decision by council's own definition because information was not yet available. Councilor Shaver said he believed the public would, if given the chance, be willing to pay more in taxes for public safety services. Such services would include the implementation of the Police Planning Task Force plan and the staffing needed to operate Fire Station #5. Mayor Morrisette agreed with Councilor Shaver, that if citizens were given the specifics to vote either yes or no on a public safety replacement measure it would be an informed decision as opposed to an uninformed decision. He said a replacement measure would also assist other parts of the city, which operate mainly from the General Fund. He said the reductions expected in FY 98-99 would be very grim Councilor Beyer stated she did not want to view a replacement measure as a "hit" to the voters. She said if the city did proceed, and a replacement measure was approved, then chances are the city would not have to make any additional service reductions. Councilor Burge commented he was supportive of police services, after serving for a year and a half on the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC). He said citizens have given the city money in the past and may continue to do so, but questioned how effective those dollars are at this point forward unless we get capacity issues resolved. He explained the current matrixing process and how crime is not necessarily reduced, but more multiple arrests are occurrmg. . . . . ,,. City of Springfield Work Session - 3/10/97 Page 3 Councilor Dahlquist said it would be a difficult decision for him to support a replacement tax measure when the people of Springfield said yes to Ballot Measure 47. He concurs with Councilor Shaver that staff should provide council with more information and then a continued discussion could occur. Mayor Morrisette said he would not like to break a tie vote on this issue. He said if the council decided to put this on the May ballot, that a consensus would need to occur among the council. Mayor Morrisette said council needed to continue to discuss this issue and if consensus can not be reached, his opinion would be not to pursue a replacement measure. Mr. Kelly stated he had a meeting scheduled with the Eugene City Manager and Lane County Administrator to compare where the political bodies are on this issue. He mentioned the City of Eugene appears to be going forward with some kind of a tax relief measure whether or not the City of Springfield or Lane County does. Mr. Kelly spoke briefly about a possible countywide measure that would deal with law enforcement issues on a whole program basis. Councilor Maine questioned what the emergency is with holding an election this May and asked when the next opportunity would be for an election. Ms. Stein stated the Legislature was slating May for an election to try and beat when Ballot Measure 47 comes into effect on , July 1, or the new fiscal year. She said numerous hearings on Ballot Measure 47 have prompted the Legislature to come up with the property tax rewrite. Mr. Kelly said if council decides to place a replacement measure on the May election ballot that it would not have to have the statewide measure pass for it to be effective. If Springfield's measure passed and the replacement measure also passed then there would be some distinctive advantages to council having placed the levy on the ballot, due to the way the state replacement tax is worded. Mr. Kelly said there are still many unknowns, but he provided council with as much information was available. Councilor Burge stated he believes the voters have spoken by supporting Ballot Measure 47 and that is what he is going to listen to. He said he would not support the replacement measure. By consensus, council agreed to continue discussions on the topic and agreed to hear additional information at either their upcoming Goal Setting Session or at their Regular Meeting on March 17. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10: 10 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins WJJ4z:d Mayor ATTEST: - ~~ Depu City Recorder