HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/2009 Regular
City qf Springfield
Regular Meeting
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009
The City of Springfield Council met in special regular session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room,
225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 9, 2009 at 7:04 p.m., with Mayor
Leiken presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie (by conference phone), Leezer,
Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant
City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Clerk ill Trudy Borrevik and members of
the staff.
BUSINESS FROM THE COUNCIL
I. Resolution for.a Ballot Title to Increase the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax by $.02 Per Gallon.
RESOLUTION NO.1 - A RESOLUTION REFERRING TO THE ELECTORS OF THE
CITY A BALLOT MEASURE AUTHORIZING THE INCREASE IN THE SPRINGFIELD
MOTOR FUEL TAX BY .02 PER GALLON.
Assistant City Manager, Jeff Towery, read the ballot title.
City Attorney Joe Leahy presented the staff report on this item. Over the past year, staffhas
briefed the Council regularly on the decline in Street Operating Fund reserves resulting from
stagnation of local and state fuel taxes, and the loss of County payments supported by revenues
under the Secure Rural Schools Act of 2000. On May 27, 2008, the Council received a report
from a Mayoral Task Force.
On October 13, 2008, Council directed staff to seek further public input on the possibility of
imposing a preservation fee, increasing the local motor vehicle fuel tax or reducing maintenance
and preservation spending. Staff prepared an on-line survey to solicit citizen input and scheduled
a public open house, which was held on January 6, 2009. On January 12,2009, staff reported to
Council on the results of the open house and on-line survey. Even though the survey conducted
recently was clearly not scientific, it provided some guidance as to the views of the general
public, and the survey results were consistent with the feedback received at the open house. The
survey elicited 175 responses. When three options - reducing services, increasing the fuel tax or
imposing a preservation fee -- were compared direcily, reducing services received the least
support (18 percent). In comparison, 26 percent support a new preservation fee and a majority, 55
percent, supported a $.02 increase in the local fuel tax.
Council held a public hearing on February 17 on an ordinance to increase the fuel tax by $.04 per
gallon. A second reading was held on March 2, at which time Council decided that based on
public testimony, the current economic situation, and the public safety and health issues
engendered by failure to repair and preserve Springfield streets, they would prefer to refer this to
the voters for the May 19, 2009 election. They asked staff to bring back a resolution and ballot
City of Springfield
Council Special Regular Meeting Minutes
March 9, 2009
Page 2
title to the March .16, 2009 Regular Meeting for their adoption to refer this item to the ballot.
Staff is presenting this at the March 9, 2009 meeting in order to meet a schedule necessary to
place the Ballot Measure on the May 19,2009 Special Election.
Mr. Leahy explained the resolution for a ballot title to increase the motor vehicle tax by $.02 per
gallon which was before the Council. Exhibit A was the ballot title with a caption not to exceed
10 words, the question not to exceed 20 words and the statement of explanation not to exceed 175
words. He said they believed that they had done a good job in preparing the documents for
Council and the ballot title reasonably identified the subject matter. A permanent vote constituted
a yes on it in terms of the question and the statement summarized the measure in a reasonable
fashion. It was not a perfect science but it was a science to try and reasonably explain what
people were voting on when they made their decision in the voting booth. Under ORS 250.285
the public body prepared the measure and under Springfield Municipal Code 2.240, preparation
of the ballot title was done by the City Attorney. Upon passage tonight, it would be turned over to
the City Recorder and if someone wished to object to the ballot title, they had 7 business days
from the time of adoption by the Council.
No questions.
Mr. Leahy said they tried to make it as understandable as possible so people knew what they were
voting on.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 09-07. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A
VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:09 p.m.
Minutes Recorder Trudy Borrevik
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~Uftey~~b~ Dave Ralston
-Mayor Council President
Attest:
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