By Kitty Piercy and Dan Bryant

A core principle of social justice is this: Budgets are moral documents. 

Whether city, county, state or federal, government budgets say much about who we are and what we value.  Tragically, the primary message being conveyed today by our federal government is that we place very low value on public service. Understandably, the morale in many federal agencies is at an all-time low as many wonder whether or not they will have a job tomorrow. 

In times like this, we need our local government and the services it provides more than ever.

The city of Eugene is faced with a serious budget shortfall. We can debate all the reasons and actions taken — the impact of Measures 5 and 50, the move of City Hall, budget priorities and all the rest — but at the end of the day, the fact remains that without additional revenue, the city will have to cut critical services. 

Since personnel costs are the majority of the general fund budget, that means reducing staff. To do so in this time would send the worst possible message to career civil servants and the public who rely on the services they provide. 

The Eugene city manager has laid out two likely scenarios: either across-the-board cuts to all departments or prioritizing public safety, which would lead to greater cuts in the remaining departments. 

The first scenario would result in the loss of 21 FTE (full-time equivalent) positions in public safety plus significant cutbacks in other departments, including elimination of several popular services, possibly Amazon Pool, the Sheldon Community Center, support for neighborhood associations, animal welfare services and more.

The second would see only a reduction of 6 FTE in public safety, but even deeper cuts in other departments, such as additional community center and library closures and elimination of the Office of Equity and Community Engagement. Ultimately, the City Council would be forced to make the final decisions on what essential programs to cut.

Do we want to say to our youth that Amazon Pool is closed this summer because the adults of the city would not pay for it?

After we worked so hard to make our public library one of the crown jewels of the community, do we really value it and the library staff so little that we will close its doors a full day every week?  

When we have broad consensus that homelessness is the number one issue we face as a community, is this the time to cut our funding for services to the unhoused by up to $1 million and to remove 6 FTE or more from those charged with maintaining our public safety?  

These are just some of the possibilities that the city manager has described if the Fire Services Fee is repealed. Other critical programs on the chopping block include CAHOOTS, the downtown safety team and core services provided by city staff (meaning longer wait times for just about anything involving city staff). Even after the horrible fires we saw recently in L.A. and that we experienced close at hand just a few years ago, the city may be forced to close a seasonal fire station.

We find these choices morally unconscionable.

Ironically, the latest state economic forecast means the Oregon Legislature will have $350 million more than previously announced for the next biennium and taxpayers will receive a kicker of $1.7 billion. If there ever was a time when we can afford a very modest increase in what we pay for the services of local government, now is that time.

The Fire Service Fee may not be a perfect solution, but at the moment, it is the best option. It is proportional. Those with larger properties, who generally are the people and businesses with the most resources, pay more. It is modest, adding just $10 to the utility bill of the typical homeowner. It is efficient and does not require the city to set up expensive systems for collecting the fee. It is a good deal, providing continued services by valued city employees in a time when civil service is under threat on the national stage. And it ensures that our fire department will be well supported long into the future.

We encourage all members of our community who value the work of our public employees and the services they provide to support the Fire Services Fee and all of our civil servants who do such important work to make this the community we love.

Kitty Piercy was the mayor of Eugene from 2009 to 2017. Dan Bryant is a retired minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and chairs the newly formed Eugene Save Our Services (EugeneSOS.com).