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CITY COUNCIL GOAL STATUS REPORT <br />Develop mechanisms to adequately fund our transportation system for <br />cars, trucks, bikes and pedestrians including maintenance and preservation <br />and capital reconstruction. <br />Contact: Kurt Corey, Executive Director, Public Works, 682 -5241 <br />Becky Carlson, Staff Lead, 682 -8476 <br />Reporting period: January — March 2008 <br />The Transportation Initiative seeks to develop mechanisms to adequately fund Eugene's <br />transportation system for cars, trucks, bikes and pedestrians, including maintenance and <br />preservation and capital reconstruction. Eugene lacks adequate funding to operate, maintain and <br />preserve its local street system. For the current fiscal year, the annual deficit for operation and <br />maintenance activities in the Road Fund is now projected to exceed $1.8 million, and the backlog <br />of unfunded capital street repairs has grown to over $173 million as of April 2008. <br />In January 2007, the City Council agreed to form a council subcommittee, comprised of four <br />councilors, to study transportation funding options and to bring back a recommendation for a <br />solution or solutions meeting certain specific criteria to adequately fund the transportation <br />system. The full council continues to be directly involved in this effort through the <br />implementation of policies consistent with the goals of the initiative. <br />The ultimate outcome for this initiative is to secure adequate funding for Eugene's transportation <br />system for cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians, to be generated using mechanisms that collect <br />funds proportionately (or equally) from residents and non - residents who use our roads, are more <br />consistent with our sustainability goals, have direct connection to the use of the roads, and give <br />incentives to those who do not have a car or use one very little. <br />Since the last report, a public hearing was held on January 14, 2008, for the purpose of gathering <br />community input on a proposed ordinance to repeal the sunset provision on the two -cent per <br />gallon fuel tax rate increase enacted in 2005, with the effect of keeping the city's local gas tax <br />rate at five cents per gallon after February 29, 2008. At that hearing, nine people testified, <br />several of them urging the council to let the two -cent tax increase expire because of the <br />perceived negative impact on the sales volumes for local fuel dealers. On January 28, 2008, <br />council took action which, instead of repealing the sunset provision, extended the sunset date to <br />February 28, 2011, leaving the fuel tax at five cents per gallon for an additional three years, in <br />