Fiscal Responsibility
Eugene’s fiscal decision-making over the last 3-1/2 years has failed to serve the needs of our community overall.
In one example of poor fiscal management the city has, on multiple occasions, paid a $100k non-refundable fee to option the purchase of a property for development. Because over-regulation has made building unprofitable, the city could not find a development partner and lost all the money.
Approximately $300,000 has been wasted this way by Mayor Piercy on land options downtown. A similar amount has been put up to option land for open space—at a price much higher than assessed value. This situation is currently unresolved although it has resulted in the resignation of Piercy's appointed chairman of the committee involved in this transaction.
In managing the general fund, we have failed to set spending priorities. Eugene citizens are facing increasing costs for food, fuel and housing. The city must understand that and budget accordingly. We must live within our means. We must determine how to prioritize limited general funds for our most important community services.
Prioritizing how to spend nearly $120 million in the general fund means sending our most vulnerable community areas, such as Public Safety and Road Maintenance to the Budget Committee. Have them make the hard choices and send the budget to the Mayor and City Council. If necessary, have an election for additional funding on lower priority items that were cut—not our most important services.
We should NOT hold our most vulnerable community areas hostage by telling voters that, unless you provide us additional money, you can’t have pothole repair or sufficient public safety.