During their Monday night meeting, councilors were offered two choices: they could layoff more than 40 employees and close a swimming pool and a community center, or they could pass a new fee.
Council member Alan Zelenka said Oregon law has left cities with few options when property taxes fall short. He said Eugene has already been making cuts for years.
"The fat and inefficiencies that were in the system are gone,” Zelenka said. “What we're faced with now is making deep cuts into departments and eliminating whole services and that's what you're seeing here."
The council adopted the fee on a five to three vote. The new source of revenue, roughly $10 a month for the average household, will bring in about $10 million a year.
Lane Professional Firefighters Union President Brett Deedon said the fee may avoid a budget crisis this time around, but it won’t solve the department’s lagging response times, or troubles with turnover.
"We've merged, we've done cuts throughout, we've worked on budget proposals,” Deedon said. “It just feels like another Band-Aid fix.”
Deedon said calls for service, especially medical calls, have ballooned while the number of firefighters has remained stagnant. He’s hoping the region eventually creates a fire district, or finds some other longer-term model that will allow staffing to match the area’s growth.
Eugene City Manager Sarah Medary said the new revenue will allow the fire department to staff an additional squad. It will also free up money in the general fund in hopes of helping other departments avoid significant layoffs.
Eugene won't start collecting the fee until the start of the new budget year in July.
The council members who voted against the fee argued voters should make the final decision. Council member Mike Clark said a group of community members had already contacted the city about their plans to place a fire fee measure on the ballot.
Clark said if the petition is successful, the city might reach the July budget deadline without a clear answer on new revenue.
“We can make the case, bring (voters) along and say hey, this is the best option,” Clark said. “I hope my colleagues will really consider that this is an option for us to win.”
A few city council members opposed a ballot measure, including Jennifer Yeh and Eliza Kashinsky, arguing their constituents elected them to make difficult decisions.
“Whichever we vote, it’s not going to be popular,” Kashinksy said. “Nobody likes additional fees and nobody wants to see these cuts. I feel like we have a responsibility to move the fire fee forward.”
