Eugene weekly., May 30, 2013, Page 4, Image 4

LET TERS
TAKE BACK THE BUDGET
Thank you to everyone who voted,
helped, and supported the No City Fee
Campaign. People stepped up from all over
our community to write letters, go door
to door, make phone calls and contribute
skills or resources — we could not have
prevailed in this election without your
activism. Together, we fought City Hall
and won.
Like most struggles, it goes on. We
can’t assume the city’s overwhelming loss
at the ballot means they fi nally “get it.” It
is painfully obvious that city leadership is
out of touch with the everyday lives and
challenges of its residents. The mayor has
already signaled she may repackage the
fee and bring it back. The city manager’s
abbreviated and tightly manipulated budget
process is a continuation of the dysfunction
that disenfranchises taxpayers, and fosters
distrust of city government. And our most
needed and popular city services are still
on the “chopping block.”
It remains to be seen if the Budget
Committee and council have the smarts or
the spine to take back control of the budget
and do what’s right for the public they
serve.
We strongly encourage you to stay
involved and submit comments to the
budget process online at eugene-or.gov/
budgetcommittee or testify at the next three
meetings; May 30, June 4, and June 5. You
can also send comments to the city on the
most recent tax exemption application for
MUPTE for student housing at wkly.ws/1hj.
Information and links to submit comments
are at our VoteNoCityFee.org website, where
you can read my comments submitted to the
Budget Committee.
Bonny Bettman McCornack
Eugene
also worked out to be a good place for City
Council meetings. It makes good fi scal
sense to share as well as being better for
the environment.
Susan Barnhart
Eugene
DELAY CITY HALL
A NEW BEGINNING
I don’t envy the task the Eugene Budget
Committee is facing right now to fi gure out
how to balance the budget without adequate
funding. I suggest that in order to keep ser-
vices that are necessary for the livability of
our city, do not put any funding into rebuild-
ing City Hall until fi scal times are better. It’s
my understanding that there is also money
that has been put aside to rebuild City Hall,
I suggest spending some of that money on
critical services for the city.
With the economy in such dismal shape
and inadequate funding due to the passage
of Measure 5, now is not the time to rebuild
City Hall. Hopefully in the future the fi scal
picture of our city, our state, our country
and the world will improve, but until then
it is important to spend funds on services
such as CAHOOTS, Buckley House,
recreation, the library and other important
services and forgo funding less important
material items such as a City Hall and tax
breaks for developers. We need all the
taxes possible, so no more tax breaks!
I work in the Lane County public
service building and enjoy having the city
offi ces sharing the building with us. As the
county has had to downsize we have room
for some of the city staff. Harris Hall has
The voters across the spectrum,
from progressive to conservative, have
delivered a resounding “no confi dence”
vote in the city manager, who through
his incompetence and duplicity has once
again led the mayor and City Council to a
disastrous result.
It’s time now for all who care about
accountability and transparency in our
local government to unite and send another
clear message to the Budget Committee
and the mayor and council that it’s well
past time for the city manager and staff
to start serving the community, not just
a select few who want to profi t from city
giveaways and preferential treatment.
As a fi rst step, we should make clear to
the Budget Committee and City Council
that our priorities are emergency shelter
for the homeless, fi re protection, Sheldon
pool, CAHOOTS, neighborhood services
and other community-building services.
Our priorities are not more tax exemptions
for student housing developers, “lux” digs
for the city manager and his posse, fantasy
“visioning” exercises by ivory tower
planners or all the other self-aggrandizing
pursuits of the city manager and mayor.
If you supported Measure 20-211
Corvallis Woman Discovers “Living Large.”
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CONNECT TO
CULTURE
because you cared about our fellow citizens
and quality of life, do not despair. This could
be a long-needed new beginning, if we unite
in our efforts to have an accountable city
organization that is genuinely responsive to
our community’s priorities.
Paul Conte
Eugene
LOVE IN MY HEART
I wish to thank all those who spent
much time and energy arranging for His
Holiness the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to
our community. I was blessed to have been
able to share this time with the Dalai Lama
and about 12,000 other brothers and sisters.
If I had to describe the gathering in
one word I would say “lovely.” And I
would add about his holiness: humble,
kind, calm, love and peace along with a
wonderful sense of humor! Lasting effects
seem to be a smile coming across my face,
calmness in my body and peace and love
in my heart — better than any of the high
blood pressure medicines I have tried, and
without all those nasty side effects listed in
TV commercials!
Once again, thank you all. Love,
Tim Boyden
Eugene
BENEFITS OF ‘YES’ VOTE
The passage of the Lane County levy
was not only good news for public safety
but also for clean drinking water, wild
salmon and remaining ancient forests of
western Oregon. The vote signals that
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