Eugene to consider payroll tax for public safety

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – The Eugene City Council will consider a proposed payroll tax paid by employers and employees that would generate an estimated $22.8 million a year to pay for an expansion of the municipal public safety system.

The Register Guard reports the proposed payroll tax is the recommendation of an advisory committee asked by the council to identity long-term funding to bolster staffing and beds at the police department, municipal court, jail and through homeless outreach.

City officials have said the system is under strain because staffing is not keeping up with Eugene’s growing population. Long wait times or no response by police officers to low-priority service calls has been among the most visible signs of this strain to the public.