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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2015)
Page 12A East Oregonian HERMISTON: Expects to receive $5.5 million in property tax revenue $10,000 for tablets and other departments requested money and Highway 395, decorative for similar technology as the signage around town and city prepares to push toward a landscaping at the Hinkle-to- paperless system. Umatilla railroad crossings. Departments budgeted ³,GRQ¶WNQRZWKHVSHFL¿F for equipment upgrades and project [the $100,000 will minor capital improvement fund] but I’ve seen the list projects, including new siding and a number of those could on Hermiston Police Depart- be good additions to the ment’s annex building. Police community,” city manager Chief Jason Edmiston said the Byron Smith said. department is seeing “huge ,QKLV¿UVWEXGJHWDV+HUP- savings in overtime right iston city manager, Smith also now” since the department proposed setting $100,000 switched to 12-hour shifts. aside to “start looking at Overall the city’s budget what our needs would be” in is about $4.5 million larger relation to city hall. City staff last year, in part because have outgrown the building at of a $2 million community 180 N.E. Second St., moving development block grant for into annexes like the old construction of a new senior Carnegie library, and Smith center on Aspen Drive behind said the current building Wal-Mart. has a number of problems The city expects to receive relating to the Americans with $5.5 million in property Disabilities Act. tax revenue, up from $4.8 In the reserve fund, million in 2014-2015, helped accounts were created to get along by the expiration of an the ball rolling on several park enterprise zone tax break for projects, including $85,000 to DuPont Pioneer. create a skate park. Hermiston Energy The city also set aside Services, water and sewer $123,000 to complete funds are projected to see improvements at Victory an increase in revenue from Square Park soon, including recent rate increases. HES the addition of restrooms, FXVWRPHUV ZLOO JHW WKHLU ¿UVW a new roof for the picnic ELOOUHÀHFWLQJWKHUDWHLQFUHDVH shelter, increased lighting and this month. more parking. “We’ll be monitoring Sunset Park will also get that,” Smith said. an upgrade after the city Total personnel in the purchased additional property proposed budget are 111.73 next to the park last year. A full-time equivalents, down fund of $39,000 is set aside just slightly from 112.03 FTE to move the Public Works in the current year. entrance currently dividing The city council plans to the two properties, and an hold a public hearing and a additional $45,000 was vote on the budget during its set aside for landscaping, June 8 meeting. A draft of the irrigation and other park proposed budget can be found improvements. online at www.hermiston. “We’re hoping that will RUXV¿QDQFHEXGJHW include a new playground,” ——— Parks and Recreation director Contact Jade McDowell at Larry Fetter said. jmcdowell@eastoregonian. Street superintendent Ron com or 541-564-4536. Sivey said his department has DOPRVW ¿QLVKHG LWV \HDU goal to recondition every city street and will be completing a project along Highland Avenue when school is out. The city’s proposed budget for 2015-2016 includes $340,000 for street construc- tion, up from $250,000 for 2014-2015. Sivey said the city would like to start focusing more on construction rather than just maintenance, paving roads like the stretch of June Avenue off of Highway 395. Money is also set aside in the budget to help pay for an Oregon Department of Trans- portation project to install WUDI¿F VLJQDOV DW WKH FRUQHU of Northwest 11th Street and Elm Avenue. As far as internal spending goes, the city budgeted up to Continued from 1A DROUGHT: 1RVSHFL¿F timeframe for signing the declarations Continued from 1A ,Q 0RUURZ &RXQW\ ÀRZV from Willow Creek were just 6 cubic feet per second above the dam near Heppner, which is much lower than the season’s average of 26 cfs. Meanwhile, the U.S. Drought Monitor has the entire state of Oregon listed in some degree of drought — from abnormally dry on the coast, to severe and extreme drought in most of Eastern Oregon. A state-declared drought would allow the Water Resources Department in each of the affected counties to issue temporary water rights and transfers where needed for irrigation and stream health. District Watermaster Greg Silbernagel said the declaration allows the department to turn around drought-related rights more quickly, though where those rights could be applied is somewhat limited locally. He VDLGWKHDUHDWKDWFRXOGEHQH¿W most is Milton-Freewater and the Walla Walla Basin, since irrigators closer to Hermiston are located in a critical ground- water area. “Those aquifers are already being monitored very heavily,” Silbernagel said. “Therefore, we wouldn’t give out more groundwater permits to make an already appropri- ated system worse.” A spokeswoman for Gov. %URZQVDLGWKHUHLVQRVSHFL¿F timeframe for signing the declarations. Friday, May 15, 2015 OFF PAGE ONE PENDLETON REBATES: Students protested against kicker PSD superintendent was on the upswing, Continued from 1A cautiously optimistic Democrats in the Legis- least 2 percent. When that lature have been under- about revenue forecast occurs, the unanticipated funding schools despite revenue gets kicked back the additional revenue. In to taxpayers as income tax credits. The last time Orego- nians got a kicker was in 2007, when they got back a total of more than $1 billion after a booming economy brought in revenue more than 19 percent higher than expected. Once the tax rebates are out, state economists said lawmakers will have an additional $463 million in resources to spend. The report of a strength- ening economy drew optimism from lawmakers who have said they’d invest some of that money in public education. Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement the robust economic growth translates into an extra $100 million for public schools. Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum said that means about 40 percent of the increased revenues will be dedicated to the K-12 budget. House Republican Leader Mike McLane, of Powell Butte, said while the revenue forecast was a sign the state’s economy March, Democrats and Republicans butted heads over the education budget, with Republicans saying the state had plenty of money but that Democrats weren’t making education a high enough priority. “The Legislature doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a leadership and prior- ities problem,” McLane said. “Oregon taxpayers know how to spend their money better than we do,” he added. Despite the rosy outlook, news of the tax rebate drew chants and protests from students sitting in the committee hearing who wanted the money to be siphoned back into higher education. Shouting “the kicker has got to go,” a handful of protesters were escorted from the room, but kept up their chants outside the doors while economists continued with their report. A spokesman for the Oregon State Police said they arrested 10 people and charged them with interfering with legislative operations. Todd Tennant Business Health Farm Life Todd Tennant One Responsible Source Agent 541/276-2302 • 800/225-2521 The Stratton Agency Pendleton / Hermiston • stratton-insurance.com of economic uncertainty into their budget, they’re Despite a new state currently including another. 7KH GLVWULFW¶V ¿UVW revenue forecast that proj- ects a $105 million increase budget meeting will come to the education budget two days after May 19, over the next two years, the when election results will Pendleton School District determine whether Pend- isn’t out of the woods quite leton voters will re-approve the district’s $2.35 million yet. “We’re not going to operation levy, which KDYH DQ\ ¿QDOLW\ XQWLO imposes a property tax rate the end of the Legislative of 40 cents per $1,000 in assessed value. session,” Peterson said. According to district While saying the new projections from the RI¿FLDOV WKLV LVQ¶W DQ revenue is a “step in the “either/or” proposition — right direction,” Peterson the district needs both a said the new development larger state budget and the won’t be included in the successful passage of the budget draft to be presented levy in order to avoid cuts at the district’s budget to programs and faculty. Originally instituted meeting May 21. “We can’t build our in 2000, the levy was budget with money that’s renewed by voters in 2005 potentially not going to be with a vote of 58 percent, although the margin fell there,” he said. :KLOH GLVWULFW RI¿FLDOV to 54 percent when it was aren’t factoring one form renewed a second time. East Oregonian