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Special District White Paper — Draft for Internal Review <br /> State law allows changes to be made to a CSD's original purpose and the District's name may <br /> • <br /> be changed as well. Additional purposes may be proposed by the MWSD governing board, <br /> which is the County Board of Commissioners. The proposed new functions are referred to the <br /> Boundary Commission for review. If the Commission approves the change, the MWSD may <br /> then provide those additional functions within its territory. No vote is required unless a tax rate is <br /> proposed. <br /> The MWSD currently has no permanent operating property tax rate limit and does not levy <br /> operating taxes. It does levy taxes for repayment of GO debt, which are outside the <br /> constitutional limit on general government rates. A permanent property tax rate limit must be <br /> proposed along with the change in organization. The district voters must approve a proposed <br /> permanent operating tax rate limit under the double majority requirement. <br /> ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENTING SPECIAL DISTRICT SERVICES <br /> There are 3 basic approaches to implementing special district services within the Eugene - <br /> Springfield metropolit rrarea � / <br /> 4. Forming a ne single - purpose distriyt or { multiple- purpose district <br /> 5. Annexing city rri ory to\one of the existing special districts �' <br /> • <br /> 6. Adding servic or fupctions to-the MW8Di the county - service district that is already <br /> serving the m ro f o litan area. <br /> More than one specia district On be 'pr'opood to deliver different services, and more than one <br /> of these approaches ay be followed. To identify the best approach, the desired urban services <br /> must be decided upo , general - area to mrist identified; - and the preferred type <br /> of district then can be selected. The economic and operational relationships among metropolitan <br /> area cities, the county and other special districts ought to be carefully considered. The proposed <br /> petition and supporting documentation then be assembled as required by ORS Chapters 198 or <br /> 199, and the district's principal Act. The city councils of the affected cities must agree by • <br /> resolution to include the city's territory within a new district or an annexation proposal. <br /> If a city is providing services that will be provided by a district, the city council should consider <br /> how to transition the current city services.. This might be accomplished by a contingent <br /> resolution to minimize disruption of the affected services; if the district service is implemented <br /> then the city will implement the changes in the services. Special consideration should be made <br /> concerning how city employees are affected. City -owned service- related facilities also must be <br /> planned for transition; for instance, the city could plan to operate under contract, loan, lease, sell <br /> or otherwise transfer city facilities and equipment to the district. The city budget would also <br /> require modification with the change in services. <br /> Special District Alternatives for Eugene by Type of Service <br /> A necessary step in considering using a special district is the decision on which district <br /> alternatives are available to deliver a particular service. Each alternative may have somewhat <br /> different implementation requirements that should be examined. A number of services are • <br /> discussed below; special districts might provide other services as well. In the discussion below, <br /> we assume that a permanent maximum property tax rate will be proposed for the district if one <br /> does not currently exist. <br /> Draft #5 Page 23 10/24/01 <br />