From: Leota Childress

Sent: Wed Aug 02 10:35:14 2017

To: Jimmy Thompson

Cc: Elizabeth Klein; Dan Huff; Gerald Fisher

Subject: Re: Transportation maintenance

Importance: Normal

Greetings All,

Jimmy, thank you for the heads up. Lizz voiced the same concerns/questions I have. In my opinion, a fee on the water bill will anger the entire community, not just the one woman to whom we've made a promise.

Thanks, I'll look forward to response to Lizz's questions.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Elizabethy Klein" <eklein@cityofmolalla.com>
To: "Jimmy Thompson" <jthompson@cityofmolalla.com>
Cc: "Leota Childress" <lchildress@cityofmolalla.com>, "Dan Huff" <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>, "Gerald Fisher" <gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 2, 2017 9:59:00 AM
Subject: Re: Transportation maintenance

Hi Jimmy,

Thank you for the note. I believe that trust can be diminished when monies are raised through "fees" rather than being voter approved. We see it happening regularly at the state level and seems like a convenient way to bypass citizen buy in.

What kind of fee increase are we talking about and why use utility billing as a method for collection? I'm not sure adding it to a utility bill makes sense unless the improvements impact sewer/water. However, if you can provide the scope of the project, it might help clarify the reasoning behind the structure of the proposal.

A few other questions...

Would there be enough revenue to do any other projects or just the one street promised to the one constituent?

Are other people impacted by the improvements or is it just the one resident?

How long would the fee be in place - is it into perpetuity?

Thanks for your patience as I wrap my brain around the proposal and potential impact.

Elizabeth Klein
City Council
City of Molalla
503-829-6855
eklein@cityofmolalla.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jimmy Thompson" <jthompson@cityofmolalla.com>
To: "Elizabeth Klein" <eklein@cityofmolalla.com>, "Leota Childress" <lchildress@cityofmolalla.com>
Cc: "Dan Huff" <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>, "Gerald Fisher" <gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 2, 2017 9:40:32 AM
Subject: Transportation maintenance

Liz and Leota,
Just a heads up, we will likely see a recommendation for a fee for transportation maintenance in the very near future, perhaps parks as well.

Generally speaking, I would be opposed to implementing a fee without the support of the voters. In my opinion, if voters dont want their roads maintained, we dont maintain them. I think government in general has done a good job of covering up the lack of transportation maintenance funding, and that has led to skepticism on the part of constituents as to the actual need for more money. I would much prefer educating the public on the need in most cases, and letting them decide.

However, in this case, we (the city) sent a letter to a constituent telling her that she would see improvements made to the area by her home. That letter has Dan's signature on it. Before departing, Jennifer Cline advised we could complete the project, which precipitated the letter. We have yet to do anything there, and do not have the money to do so.

I think restoring the trust citizens have in their government, even if it is just this one person, is extremely important. In this case, I will personally support a small fee for transportation maintenance to be added to utility bills. I believe we will have a recommendation coming soon.

Just wanted to give you a heads up.

Best Regards,
Jimmy
--
Leota Childress
Molalla City Councilor
503.829.6855
lchildress@cityofmolalla.com