The city manager’s proposed cuts for Eugene’s budget show a shocking lack of operational awareness. Many volunteer and community programs – including Eugene’s chartered neighborhood associations – provide huge returns on investments that, in turn, save money and resources. Cuts in volunteers equals increased costs as other departments either must fill the gaps or work simply does not get done.

Park volunteers contributed 19,445 hours in 2024 alone. At the city’s standard volunteer labor equivalent rate of $31.80, that is $618,351. As a lead for Friends of Monroe Park and chair of a neighborhood association with four parks groups, I know this number is a significant undercount. Friends of Monroe Park does 365-plus hours a year in trash pickup alone. In addition, our group has four work parties each year where volunteers weed and mulch planting beds. Also, that hourly rate is well below the cost of city staff.

In reality, much of the work wouldn’t even get done without volunteers. The bottom line is that it is impossible to maintain our parks without volunteers and city staff to provide the tools and other materials. Neglected parks create space for illicit and anti-social behaviors that also impact surrounding neighborhoods. Police officers’ time is expensive.

Eugene’s chartered neighborhood associations receive about $120,000 a year from the city in direct support (not counting staff support). Those funds primarily go to outreach, such as renting space for regular public meetings, mailed newsletters and promotional materials. Eugene’s neighborhood associations contribute about 28,000 volunteer hours a year worth about $890,000.

Neighborhood associations create access points for elected officials, city management and staff, and nonprofits and businesses to engage and inform the public. This includes candidate forums, state-mandated public process on city and county projects and initiatives, and workshops and training on everything from emergency preparedness to recycling to conflict de-escalation.

Neighborhood associations conduct a majority of any emergency preparedness outreach and training. Neighborhood associations are major conduits for public safety information flowing between the Eugene Police Department and residents. Want a speed trailer for your street? Your neighborhood association handles that.

We provide critical information to public works and advocate for everything from crosswalks to traffic calming improvements. The city’s recent interest in improving sidewalks only came after neighborhood associations’ years of advocacy and data gathering.

Finally, neighborhood associations create a sense of community and social infrastructure that makes neighborhoods safer, more inclusive and more resilient.

The current budget proposal follows a tired bureaucratic playbook. Cuts are made to the least expensive programs with the highest return on investment and to the lowest-paid staff, while preserving management pay and positions. Eugene recently added a second assistant city manager, a position that starts at $205,337.60 a year. When adding in benefits, removing that position would be a significant savings. The current city manager makes $293,217. Maybe they can get by with just one assistant.

Of course, the failure to have a truly priority-based budget and simply recycling previous budgets is what got us here. As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome. Everything gets more expensive. The City of Eugene has done little to grow the local economy and increase city revenue.

The budget crisis was a long time coming and completely predictable. But here we are with few good options and leadership that seems unwilling and unable to address our systemic budget process issues. If we are remotely interested in accountability and responsibility, then those who got us in this mess should pay the price, not the rank-and-file staff and volunteers who make Eugene function on a daily basis.

Cut from the top down, not from the bottom up.

Ted M. Coopman is a retired San Jose State University professor and current chair of Jefferson Westside Neighbors. He has lived in Eugene since 2016.

Ted M. Coopman is a retired San Jose State University professor and current chair of Jefferson Westside Neighbors. He has lived in Eugene since 2016.