EUGENE, Ore. – At their meeting on June 26, the Eugene City Council unanimously adopted a budget for 2023 through 2025 that still has a massive monetary shortfall, even after efforts were made to shrink it.
Officials with the Eugene City Manager’s Office said the biennial budget adopted at Monday’s meeting represents work done since fall of 2022 to address a gap of $15 million in the city’s general fund while still providing support for urgent community needs. However, the City Manager’s Office admitted the adopted budget still has a significant shortfall that will have to be addressed by July 1, 2024. Eugene City Manager Sarah Medary said she is working with the City Council on how to address the issue, and said it’s likely that more budget adjustments are still ahead.
“The adopted 2023-2025 budget is the first step towards a more sustainable future,” Medary said. “The past several years have been difficult for many city budgets, including Eugene, and this budget uses multiple interconnected strategies for an all-in approach that is intended to make immediate impacts.”
Although the new budget may relieve some of the pressure from the $15 million shortfall, several services and programs are still going to get cut to save money. These include cuts to funding for sister cities, the animal welfare program, and others. One service facing cuts is the Eugene Library, who will see reductions totaling around $4 million and eliminate nine full-time employee positions.
The new budget will go into effect on July 1, 2023, and will be posted on the city’s website when finalized.
