Budget Meeting Minutes 05/11/05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In response to another question from Mr.' McDonald, Mr. Coreystated that there had not been a study speck to the pavement patching process that determined it was better to use in-house labor. However, `he noted that it had not been called out over the course of the accreditation process as an item that could have been undertaken in a more efficient manner. Mr. McDonald asked what workers did the wood from felled City trees. Mr. Corey replied that such trees were generally put through a chipper and the wood chips were used in parks and public places. He added that in the rare event there was an excess, the wood was taken to a compost facility. Mr. McDonald suggested the Ciry sell the wood. He noted that the City of Berkeley,. California, had found cost savings by funding a program that hired a private vendor for tree removal that then utilized the wood. Mr._Mulligan jokingly suggested that of the 2,624 potholes repaired during the previous yeaz at least 2,000 had been on his street. He commented that the ELF had not been the first choice of the Budget Subcommittee and had ultimately evolved into the TSMF. He noted that one stretch of his road was "smooth as silk" because it was owned by the County, so that one would drive over potholes and then unmarred pavement and then more potholes. He called this an example of how short-sighted the State's policies were regarding how things were funded. Mr. Mulligan asked if the City would. be forced to look for other sources for tree maintenance. Mr. Corey responded that the urban forest within the public right of way would continue to be covered by the Road Fund. Mr. Mulligan conjectured that leaving things as they were and not doing anything could cause the Public Works Department to contract out more regardless of peoples' desires or efficiencies that could be gained. Mr. Corey did not think so. He believed there was a certain community demand for service and when that point was reached, the City could be at crisis proportions. He suggested~that the likely scenario for the capital preservation leg of the budget was more likely that with no money in the budget, the preservation would not occur. However, the maintenance budget was not one that could be overlooked for long. He pointed out that tree planting was the one service the department provided that cost approximately $1 million annually and removal of that service would save that amount of money. He did not think the community would support the elimination of tree planting, though. He predicted that the next major service level that would have to be scrutinized as to whether it was funded or not was street lighting, which cost about $1 million. While he did not think the community was willing to be "all black at night," he predicted continued reductions in service to match the funding available. He said that having someone else do the work is often not the most effective thing to do. Mr. Kelly commented that when looking at ongoing service needs the public asked for it was cleaz the Ciry was a general purpose government and ought to fund most services from general purpose revenue. He said it would be difficult for him to institute a "street lighting fee" or a "tree planting fee." He thought the only way to meet the needs of the community would be to discuss overall tax reform and arrive at a general purpose tax restructuring that could be brought before the public for a vote. He opined that this was the ultimate solution to the structural problems in services. Mr. Clark asked if there was a general technology available for LED street lighting. Mr: Gorey responded that there was not because the LED lights did not shed a lot of light, though the technology was still in development. In response to another question from Mr. Clark, Mr. Corey said that transportation engineering represented 15 to 20 percent of the Public Works Department budget. MINUTES-Eugene Budget Committee February 7, 2005 Page 10