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Special District White Paper – Draft for Internal Review <br /> These measures significantly reduced local property taxes. However the ability of a city to <br /> provide desired ongoing services beyond what could be provided under a city's permanent rate <br /> limit was restricted to limited- duration local option levies. Even with approval of a majority of <br /> voters, tax revenue could not be generated beyond the level of revenue allowed by city's <br /> permanent maximum rate limit. <br /> Local Option Levies <br /> Use of local option levies is a strategy commonly used by cities to fund particular services <br /> beyond the constraints imposed by Measure 5 and 50. Voters in the City of Eugene have <br /> recently approved two local option levies to fund youth services and library operations. <br /> However, levies are relatively short-term and insecure solutions for funding on -going services. <br /> Levies have to be renewed or replaced with other revenue when they expire, or the services <br /> they fund must be terminated. <br /> New City Revenue —,, <br /> Identification and ado itiottof nw city.- -reve ue sources is ianotherleasible strategy in response <br /> to current revenue co str rots. New rev nua sour es'can range from User fees to excise taxes. <br /> The City of Eugene, li a ctheir cities, will likely donslder, new revenue sources where and when <br /> appropriate. However, many �o1rces mayhot pilovide a revenue flow that <br /> is political acceptable, adeq}aate� and stable <br /> Special Districts for Delivery of Urban Services <br /> This paper focuses on the use of one or more special districts as a strategy to provide <br /> adequate, stable and politically acceptable revenue for necessary urban -level services. Each <br /> type of special district is authorized by State statute to provide particular services or functions to <br /> accomplish its purpose with its own independent revenue sources. Because a special district <br /> typically has a permanent property tax rate for its purposes, a district may provide more stable <br /> and adequate funding of particular services than can be provided within the City's permanent <br /> property tax rate limit. <br /> In 1969 the State Legislature adopted statutes declaring that a fragmented approach had <br /> developed to public services provided by local government. The Legislature also declared that <br /> fragmentation results in duplications in public services and resistance to cooperation and is a <br /> barrier to planning implementation. Local boundary commissions were established by the 1969 <br /> Legislature as State agencies charged with guiding the creation and growth of cities and special <br /> service districts in Oregon in order to prevent illogical extensions of local government <br /> boundaries and to encourage the reorganization of overlapping governmental agencies. These <br /> policies were intended to result in orderly development by encouraging the development of <br /> infrastructure and delivery of urban services under multi - purpose metropolitan governments. <br /> Also in 1969, comprehensive local land use plans were first required by the Legislature. In 1973, <br /> the Legislature adopted Senate Bill 100 that revised comprehensive planning requirements and <br /> detailed statewide planning goals. Local government boundary commissions were assigned <br /> responsibility to help implement this policy. However, since that time the number of boundary <br /> commissions has been reduced by the Legislature. By 2001, the only local government <br /> Draft #5 Page 4 10/24/01 <br />