Local Government

Willamalane Parks and Recreation District in Springfield may ask voters for a tax rate increase for the first time since it was founded in the 1940s.

In her second annual State of the City Address Monday evening, Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson highlighted the city’s successes, including improving public safety downtown and building more housing.

The proposal includes scaling back summer school, college readiness and some online programs as well as cuts to classified, licensed and administrative jobs to help close a $30 million gap.

Florence City Council will consider later this month whether to continue using automatic license plate cameras from private company Flock Safety.

Eugene has announced three city manager finalists; two that already lead cities in Oregon and one internal candidate who is doing the job on a temporary basis. Public interviews are Jan. 13.

Lane County’s outgoing chair David Loveall outlined his vision for how the region should address its housing crisis and public safety challenges during the annual State of the County address Monday.

The city of Florence will hold a townhall style meeting Monday about whether to continue using private company Flock’s automatic license plate reader cameras.

A state board upheld a local ruling that found CleanLane is incompatible with zoning in the proposed Goshen location. The decision could be appealed in the new year, and the county is exploring moving the project to Short Mountain Landfill in the meantime.

Springfield leaders will discuss a new payroll tax in the new year, though the city can’t collect it until 2027 at the earliest.

The garbage hauler that handles Springfield’s trash, Sanipac, has not paid millions of dollars in fees it owes to Lane County, according to the county.

Springfield City Council will soon vote on a pay increase for its city manager, Nancy Newton.

The free, pilot bus route offers four departures on weekdays and connects McMinnville, Amity, Rickreall, Monmouth, Adair Village, Corvallis, Monroe, Junction City, and Eugene.