QuickTake:

Eugene voters may decide whether to shoulder a fire service fee to prop up the city's budget and avoid potential cuts to city services, like parks, libraries and public works.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story incompletely described the Eugene council’s options for the fire service fee. This story has been updated to better describe what the council can do.

Eugene voters could face a critical decision on whether to shoulder more city fees or face potential cuts to city services that provide residents with emergency medical care, parks, libraries and public works. 

The city’s financial future — and the pocketbooks of residents — are at stake. 

Voters may decide whether to follow the city council’s lead and approve a fire service fee that would cost the average homeowner about $10 a month, or $120 a year, to help offset city budget cuts. 

The council passed the fire service fee Feb. 10, with an eye toward raising $10 million to help bridge an $11.5 million budget gap in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Those plans are now in jeopardy. The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce turned in more than 8,400 signatures to the city March 13, enough to put the fire service fee on the ballot and let voters decide its fate.

The situation leaves uncertainty.

Without a fire service fee, it’s unknown where the city would make cuts in its next budget. It could mean fewer city staffers at counters to handle zoning applications, reduced hours for city services or less maintenance at city parks. 

Because of the chamber’s petition, city officials have several choices, including when to hold the election or whether to reverse the decision to impose the fire service fee. Without any council action, the fee will automatically go to voters at the Nov. 4 election. 

But the council could also decide to put the fee forward to voters at a special election Aug. 26. 

At a work session Wednesday, April 9, councilors punted that decision, but agreed to talk about the city budget and their options again April 21. 

Here are questions and answers about the fire service fee that will go to voters:

How much would the fire service fee cost Eugene residents? 

Eugene residents would be on the hook for another $10 million annually.

The fire service fee would be billed on a monthly basis to occupants of buildings who already pay the stormwater bill, whether they are the owners or tenants. The fee, based on the square footage of a property, would cost from a low of $3 a month to as much $1,752 a month. That’s from at least $36 to $21,024 a year. 

For the occupant of an average-size house of 1,501 to 2,500 square feet, the cost would be $10 a month, or $120 a year. The lowest $3 monthly rate would apply to property of 50 to 750 square feet.

The highest monthly fee of $1,752 applies to property with more than 300,000 square feet.

Worth noting: Those rates are the same for commercial or residential properties with stormwater service. There is no fire service fee for land without buildings and stormwater service.

Where would the money go? 

Despite its namesake, the fire service fee would not go entirely to the city’s fire department. 

The fee would add another $2 million to the Eugene Springfield Fire budget. That will fund a 24-hour squad, or two-person crew, to respond to medical emergencies and fires, focusing in downtown Eugene where service demand is high. This also would allow the department to devote three squads to wildfire responses.

The other $8 million raised by the fee also would be earmarked for the fire department — but it’s money that the department wouldn’t need to draw from the city’s general fund. As a result, that would free up $8 million in the general fund that could be used to fill budget gaps.

Essentially, that money would soften any budget cuts the city makes from $11.5 million to $3.5 million.

What happens if voters don’t approve a fire service fee?

There is no established plan set for how the city would cut its budget without a fire service fee. The $11.5 million represents about 6% of the city’s operating budget.

At their February meeting, council members considered two different scenarios that outline how an $11.5 million cut may play out. 

For example, the city could do across-the-board cuts that proportionately hit different city departments or make cuts in a way that would preserve public safety and make deeper cuts in areas like parks and libraries. It could mean fewer days for libraries to be open, or shuttering community centers.

But neither scenario is binding. And the city could look for alternatives in the months ahead.

What do supporters say?

Supporters of the fire service fee say the increase is relatively modest and it’s needed to preserve the quality of life in Eugene — and bolster the city’s fire service and protect against the threat of surrounding wildfires. 

They also point to the city’s limited tools to raise revenue and the costs of doing business such as rising health insurance costs and inflation.

“When you look at trying to provide the same services that we’ve been providing, those services are more expensive,” Eliza Kashinsky, a Eugene city councilor, said in an interview with Lookout Eugene-Springfield. “And the cost to provide even just the same services has gone up faster than the property tax revenue.”

What do opponents say? 

The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, which is spearheading the push to put the issue before voters, believes the city’s approach was not thoughtful or strategic. Brittany Quick-Warner, the chamber’s president and CEO, said that the process needs to look at both sides of the equation: revenues and expenses, as a business would. 

“One option is to try to figure out, how do I get more money?” Quick-Warner said in an interview. “Another option is to try to look at, what are we spending money on that we could cut back on? And [we] were essentially told that is not a part of this discussion. We are only talking about revenues. And so I think that was a really frustrating reality right off the bat.”

For example, she said, the city could do more to spur economic and industrial development, which would grow the tax base. 

How did we get here?

Eugene is struggling to keep revenues apace with inflation and rising costs. 

Eugene, like other Oregon cities, is at a disadvantage, especially when inflation hits, because assessed property values that determine taxes cannot increase by more than 3% annually. This comes due to Measure 50, which Oregon voters passed in 1997. Property taxes make up about 70% of the revenues for the city’s general fund budget.

As a result, the assessed property values that determine taxes do not increase proportionately when real estate prices increase on the market. Also, inflation can grow more rapidly than tax revenues.

What’s next? 

Work is unfolding on parallel tracks. 

City officials are mapping out the size of the budget in May, regardless of whether there is a fire service fee. As a result, officials will need to plan the budget with uncertainty and prepare for either option. The city council still needs to approve that budget before the next budget cycle starts on July 1. 

Could the fire service fee go up?

If the issue goes to the ballot, Eugene voters would decide whether to pass or reject the fire service fee. Unless the city opts for a special election in August, the election will be Nov. 4. 

If passed, the fire service fee could always increase in the future. The city manager could administratively increase the fee. But council approval would be necessary for any increase that is greater than 5% within a 12-month period.

(Do you have other questions about the fire service fee? Send us an email and we’ll do our best to answer them.)

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.