A petition to allow Eugene voters to decide whether they want to pay a fee to maintain fire, and other city services, has qualified to appear on the November ballot.
On Monday, the city of Eugene confirmed the group seeking to place the fire fee referendum on the ballot had gathered enough valid signatures.
The group, Voters Against Forever Fees, gathered more than 8,400 signatures over about two weeks. It’s backed by the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, which has argued the fee is an unsustainable way to balance the budget, and commercial property owners.
Eugene leaders had planned to start collecting the fee, roughly $10 a month for residents and $38 a month for businesses, in July. They will now have to wait until after the election.
Earlier this year, Eugene leaders said that if they didn’t collect the fee, they would need to cut about $8 million worth of services starting this summer. At the time, City Manager Sarah Medary said the city might not be able to afford to keep the library open seven days a week, might need to close a city pool and reduce its support of youth, and other community programs.
The budget uncertainty is also clouding the future of CAHOOTS, the mobile-crisis unit operated by White Bird Clinic, which receives a significant amount of its funding from the city.
The city has not yet not released an official budget.
