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IL Home Rule and The Region <br /> <br /> A. EUGENE, A CHARTER CITY <br /> The City urges the Legislature to respect the rights of local governments to exercise local control <br /> over local responsibilities provided by the Oregon Constitution. This includes protecting the <br /> rights of city residents to determine the contents of city charters and protecting the rights of local <br /> governing bodies to enact ordinances and procedures relating to all aspects of local government, <br /> including municipal adjudication of ordinance violations. <br /> A key factor that affects the power of the City to exercise local control over local responsibilities <br /> is the ability to rely on stable and adequate funding for desired local programs and services. The <br /> City urges the Legislature to consider the impact ofstate-level policy decisions on local <br /> government revenue sources. The City will support State programs designed to enhance the <br /> ability of local governments to fund services that the citizens desire or programs to assist local <br /> governments in weathering economic downturns. <br /> In the past, the Oregon Legislature has attempted to preempt Eugene's home rule authority <br /> regarding two issues exclusively specific to Eugene-the voter-approved charter amendment <br /> establishing the Toxics Right-to-Know program and the City's proposed construction of a bike <br /> path along the Willamette River. <br /> Recommendations: <br /> 1. Oppose any State action to reduce local revenues or to restrict the ability of local <br /> governments to raise additional revenues. <br /> 2. Oppose intervention in local decisions which are clearly the authority of the. City <br /> under its constitutional home rule authority. <br /> B. REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS: EUGENE'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL PARTNERS <br /> The City of Eugene believes that public services and public programs are delivered in partnership <br /> with all levels of government, This partnership is based on cooperation and communication <br /> among all local governments, whether individually or through councils of governments, as well <br /> as with the State and Federal governments. To that end, the City maintains a staff presence in <br /> Salem during legislative sessions and also retains assistance in Washington, D.C. <br /> Our metropolitan area has a long tradition of inter <br /> jurisdictional cooperation on service delivery. <br /> There are hundreds of intergovernmental agreements that control cooperative provision of <br /> services including ambulance, fire protection, emergency call-taking and dispatch, storm and <br /> City of Eugene Legislative Policies, 2005 Session 4 <br /> <br />