December15 2016
free
VERNONIA’S
volume10 issue24
www.vernoniasvoice.com
reflecting the spirit of our community
Council Considers Public
Works Recommendations
Council agrees to annually
evaluate, and adjust if needed,
water and sewer rates.
City Missed Opportunity
to Establish Tax on Marijuana
The City of Vernonia missed
an opportunity in the November 2016
election to institute a three percent
tax on locally sold, legal recreational
marijuana and will now, most likely,
have to wait until November 2018
before they can do so.
The Vernonia City Council
learned of this missed opportunity at
their December 5, 2016 City Council
meeting when City Administrator Jo-
sette Mitchell presented a memorandum
from City Attorney Ruben Cleveland.
In his memo, Cleveland
explained that when Oregon voters
passed Measure 91 in the 2014 general
election, and legalized the sale of
recreational marijuana, Measure 91
established a regulatory framework for
the sale and taxation of products. A key
provision in the bill did not allow local
jurisdictions to impose their own taxes
on marijuana products.
Based on a recommendation
from the Oregon League of Cities,
many cities, including Vernonia with
Ordinance 896, enacted marijuana taxes
prior to Measure 91 taking effect, with
the hopes that those taxes would be
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“grandfathered” in and be enforceable.
According to Cleveland’s
memo, the state legislature has rewritten
the original provisions since voters
approved Measure 91, changing the
regulations dramatically. Part of those
changes included ORS 475B.345 which
now allows cities to tax marijuana sales,
although there is some ambiguity, as the
ORS also states that the state Legislative
Assembly is the only authority that can
impose a tax.
ORS 475B.345 allows cities
or counties to adopt an ordinance that
imposes a tax or fee of up to three
percent on marijuana items sold in their
jurisdiction. That tax must be approved
by local voters in a statewide general
election, which only take place every
two years.
Cleveland also states in his
memo that cities like Vernonia that
passed taxes prior to Measure 91 are
unsure of their status. “Even though
continued on page 16
At their December 5, 2016
meeting the Vernonia City Council took
action on several recommendations
from the Public Works Committee.
Council
rejected
a
recommendation from their citizen
committee concerning what to do with
excess funds collected over the past
two years from ratepayers as part of
the water loan on the City utility bill,
but did agree with the Committee’s
recommendation on two other issues:
to begin purchasing radio read water
meters in the future, and to set a date
of the fi rst week of March to annually
review water and sewer rates.
Council discussed the Public
Works Committee recommendation
concerning the overpayment from the
water loan. For the past two years
the City has been aware they were
collecting excess funds for the water
loan payment because the rate was
initially calculated using a lower
number of water customers when the
City did a rate study. There have been
numerous new customers added to the
system since then, increasing the overall
amount collected each year towards the
annual debt payment. The City has been
waiting to adjust the rate at one time
after they collected all the information
they needed, including the fi nal cost
of the Wastewater Treatment Upgrade
project, which was just determined last
month.
The water loan payment began
showing up as a separate $11.50 item on
City utility bills beginning in April of
2014 as part of an overall restructuring
by the City of their utility rates and the
installation of a new billing system.
Over the course of the two
years, the City collected approximately
$22,000 in excess fees, or about $24 per
customer.
The Public Works Committee
offi cially recommended that the City
return the funds to rate payers in a
lump sum payment and that the loan
repayment fee needs to be recalculated.
In her written Agenda Item
Summary, City Administrator Josette
Mitchell told the Council that city
staff did not support the Public Works
Committee recommendation, citing
many logistical issues in trying to return
revenues to rate payers, including trying
to locate customers who may no longer
be city residents.
Mitchell said it was staff’s
recommendation to use the excess
money as a starting balance in next
year’s budget in the water loan
repayment line item, thereby lessening
the amount needed to be collected
from rate payers going forward, and
legitimately using the revenue towards
paying the debt it was collected for.
Council agreed with staff’s
recommendation and voted to hold
the funds and add them to next year’s
budget. “I think it’s more fi scally
responsible to do it that way,” said
Councilor Bruce McNair, who has been
a strong proponent of tightly managing
the utility rates with a goal of saving
rate payers as much money as possible.
The City, in attempting to be
transparent, admits they made a mistake
in waiting this long to adjust the rate
and thereby collecting the excess funds.
“Mistakes were made and we’re going
to rectify it, but we’re going to do it in
a manner that is fi scally responsible,”
said Councilor McNair.
continued on page 6
Waste Management to
Make Garbage Day More Convenient
Waste Management is moving
forward with a plan to provide all resi-
dential customers in Vernonia with roll
cart garbage cans to replace customer’s
own 32 gallon garbage cans.
Greg Johnson, Senior Route
Manager for Waste Management in
Columbia County and Washington
County, presented the Vernonia City
Council with Waste Management’s
proposal at the Council’s December
5, 2016 meeting and asked for the
Council’s support.
The plan calls for all residential
customers to receive 35 gallon roll carts
free of charge. Johnson told the Council
the plan would affect approximately
300 customers in Vernonia. He said
there were already about 300 customers
in Vernonia already using Waste
Management provided roll carts for
their garbage.
Johnson said the plan would
be “revenue neutral” for Waste
Management,
meaning customers
switching to the roll carts would see
an $0.84 increase monthly, while
customers who already have the roll
carts would receive an $0.83 decrease.
City Administrator Josette
Mitchell told Council that the City
would need to hold a rate hearing before
the program can be implemented.
Johnson told the Council that
Waste Management began a similar
program last April in Scappoose and
that the “transition was smooth with
overwhelmingly positive customer
feedback and virtually no complaints
on using our carts.”
Johnson says the roll carts have
attached lids and sturdy wheels and are
more convenient for their customers. In
addition the carts provide safer working
conditions for their employees who can
use an automated arm on the collection
trucks to lift and empty the carts.
Council gave their consent to
move forward with the plan. Johnson
said Waste Management plans to begin
the program on April 1, 2017.