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City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2007 Oregon Legislative Session <br /> City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2007 Oregon Legislative Session <br /> HOME RULE AND THE REGION <br /> <br /> ~ The City supports repeal of the real estate transfer tax. <br /> <br /> Preserving Livability in Transportation and the Environment A. EUGENE, A CHARTER CITY <br /> ~ The City supports greater State Highway Trust Fund funding for local streets and The. City urges the Legislature to respect the rights of local governments to exercise <br />local <br /> road maintenance and repair, and. seeks additional flexibility to use funds for nodal control over local responsibilities provided by the Oregon Constitution. <br /> This includes <br /> development, pedestrian and bicycle access. protecting the rights of city residents to determine the contents of city charters and <br /> protecting the rights of local governing bodies to enact ordinances and procedures,relating <br /> ~ The City opposes any preemption or limitation on local revenue options, including to all aspects of local government, including municipal adjudication of ordinance <br />violations. <br /> local fuel taxes and transportation system maintenance fees that maybe used to <br /> fund the City's transportation system. A key factor that affects the power of the City to exercise local control over local <br /> j responsibilities is the ability to rely on stable and adequate funding for desired local <br /> ~ The City supports continued funding for passenger rail., as well as bus connections ~ programs and services. The City urges the Legislature to consider the impact <br />of state- <br /> toeastern and southern Oregon. Eugene's recently renovated historic depot is the level policy decisions on local government revenue sources. The City will <br /> support State <br /> southern terminus of the Northwest Rail Corridor. programs designed to enhance the ability of local governments to fund services citizens <br /> desire or programs to assist local governments in weathering economic downturns. <br /> ~ The City supports strategies that help urban communities respond proactively to <br /> salmon protection, and respond to the listing by the National. Marine Fisheries In the past, the Oregon Legislature has attempted to preempt Eugene's home <br /> rule <br /> Service. authority regarding two issues exclusively specific to Eugene: The voter-approved charter <br /> amendment establishing the ToxicsRight-to-Know program and the City's proposed <br /> ~ The City supports strategies that help local communities respond to a changing construction of a bike path along the Willamette River have both been the targets <br />of <br /> economic climate, and funding strategies to preserve community livability and preemptive legislation in Salem. <br /> economic health. <br /> Recommendations <br /> ~ The City supports the removal of prohibition on SDCs of school, police, fire and ~ Oppose any State action to reduce local revenues or to restrict the ability <br />oflocal <br /> library sand the preservation of existing SDCs; governments to raise additional revenues. <br /> ~ 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 . . <br /> partnership with all levels of government. This partnership is based on cooperation and <br /> communication among all local governments, whether individually or through councils of <br /> governments, as well as with the State and Federal governments. To that end, the City <br /> maintains a staff presence in Salem during legislative sessions and also retains assistance. <br /> in Washington, D.C. <br /> The Eugene metropolitan area has a long tradition ofinter-jurisdictional cooperation on <br /> service delivery. There are hundreds of intergovernmental agreements that control <br /> cooperative provision of services including ambulance, fire protection, emergency call-' <br /> taking and dispatch, storm and sanitary sewers, street repair, solid waste disposal, public <br /> safety records information systems, planning, affordable housing, business recruitment, <br /> `human services, cabletelevision, mainframe computer, geographic data systems, air <br /> quality regulation and transportation. <br /> 4 5 <br /> <br />