Eugene Clean Energy Fund: Ballot Initiative

The city of Eugene has faced a multi-year budget crisis and it's made cuts to services.

Aya and Tim, if the city is generating this funding, why should climate projects be the priority?

As a small business owner and as somebody that has worked with nonprofits and doing energy renovations, the climate crisis is not something to joke around or something that's gonna happen down the road.

This is our generation, it's impacting us now.

We're having record wildfires, record heat, Oregon's been in a multi.

a decade drought now, and we really need to do something to start creating climate resilience, create healthier homes, healthier communities, and really create a fund that will be able to support these initiatives, not just now, but in the long term as well.

And I'll just add, climate isn't a single issue that stands alone.

It touches every part of our lives.

And so the things that we could fund through the Eugene Clean Energy Fund don't just reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

They create good green jobs that will employ people in our community.

It can address the housing crisis through building energy-efficient, affordable homes.

Laura mentioned schools.

Schools can apply directly to the Eugene Clean Energy Fund for their own projects to help reduce costs and make sure that students are getting the very best from our 4J and from our Bethel school system.

And so, I mean, climate is not something that stands on its own.

It touches everything.

It touches all of us.

And this fund will address that with so many co-benefits.

Laura, you mentioned this in your opening statement that you feel there are other areas that need this funding.

Is this the right priority or the right place to spend it?

In my opinion, no.

I think that climate is very important and I think that it's something that we do need to fund, but I think that we have funding crises across the board.

And so I think taking a large amount of money and putting it just in this mechanism is a problematic use.

I also think that if we, I don't like that we're taking this out of the city's general fund either.

I would be much less opposed to this if the revenue was going to the city.

It was part of the budget process where there was public accountability through a budget process that we all track.

The city of Eugene has faced a multi-year budget crisis and it's made cuts to services.

Aya and Tim, if the city is generating this funding, why should climate projects be the priority?

As a small business owner and as somebody that has worked with nonprofits and doing energy renovations, the climate crisis is not something to joke around or something that's gonna happen down the road.

This is our generation, it's impacting us now.

We're having record wildfires, record heat, Oregon's been in a multi.

a decade drought now, and we really need to do something to start creating climate resilience, create healthier homes, healthier communities, and really create a fund that will be able to support these initiatives, not just now, but in the long term as well.

And I'll just add, climate isn't a single issue that stands alone.

It touches every part of our lives.

And so the things that we could fund through the Eugene Clean Energy Fund don't just reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

They create good green jobs that will employ people in our community.

It can address the housing crisis through building energy-efficient, affordable homes.

Laura mentioned schools.

Schools can apply directly to the Eugene Clean Energy Fund for their own projects to help reduce costs and make sure that students are getting the very best from our 4J and from our Bethel school system.

And so, I mean, climate is not something that stands on its own.

It touches everything.

It touches all of us.

And this fund will address that with so many co-benefits.

Laura, you mentioned this in your opening statement that you feel there are other areas that need this funding.

Is this the right priority or the right place to spend it?

In my opinion, no.

I think that climate is very important and I think that it's something that we do need to fund, but I think that we have funding crises across the board.

And so I think taking a large amount of money and putting it just in this mechanism is a problematic use.

I also think that if we, I don't like that we're taking this out of the city's general fund either.

I would be much less opposed to this if the revenue was going to the city.

It was part of the budget process where there was public accountability through a budget process that we all track.