Page 9
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Oregon betterment foreseen in new budget presented by Gov. Kulongoski
(Continued on page 6)
eligible 3- and 4-year-olds,”
he said, “and launch our
Shared-Responsibility
Model to make college truly
affordable for all Orego-
nians.”
A third consensus item
is the need to raise Oregon's
tobacco tax to match the tax
rates now in effect in Wash-
ington state. This will enable
Oregon to recover more of
the costs “that smoking in-
flicts on society,” especially
the health-care system.
A fourth consensus item
is the need for a stable fund-
ing source for the Oregon
State Police, the governor
said. That funding source
may be a surcharge on car
insurance premiums on poli-
cies that go beyond the man-
datory minimum coverage.
“If we adopt all of the
consensus items I have out-
lined,” said Kulongoski,
“our tax system will be
more fair, more stable and
better able to support the
services that our citizens
deserve for the long-term.
“We will end our
roller-coaster trend of cut-
ting in bad times and re-
investing in good times, but
never quite getting ahead.”
Under the heading of
“the responsibility to do our
best,” the budget allocates
$5 million to facilitate the
consolidation and admini-
stration of school district
health plans, which is ex-
pected to save $40 million
in future biennia.
And the governor’s
budget increases reserves to
$902 million by doubling
the Educational Stability
Fund (to $452 million), es-
tablishing a new rainy day
fund with the proceeds of
the corporate kicker ($275
million); boosting the
budget’s projected ending
balance ($145 million);
and re-establishing an emer-
gency fund ($30 million).
These
reserves
will exceed 6 percent of the
state's General Fund reve-
nues by the end
of the 2007-09 biennium - a
record level in recent years
and
one
praised
by State Treasurer Randall
Edwards.
Budget Highlights Listed
*The Governor's total
Education Enterprise Gen-
eral Fund/Lottery Funds
budget is $8.0 billion. This
is $1.1 billion more than
2005-07, or a 15.5 percent
increase. The budget funds
K-12 schools at $6.06 bil-
lion, or a 14.2 percent in-
crease from 2005-07.
*The governor’s budget
provides access to Head
Start/Oregon
Pre-
Kindergarten for all eligible
3 and 4-year olds by adding
an additional $39 million
from an increase in the cor-
porate minimum tax.
The program is expected to
serve more than 3,000 addi-
tional children.
*Funding for need-
based grants through the
Student Assistance
Commission increases to
$110 million total funds,
$32 million more than the
current program level. This
will enable the state to make
the first of two new invest-
ments to implement a new
“shared responsibility
model” for college assis-
tance that will make post-
secondary education afford-
able for all Oregonians,
boosting grants from an av-
erage of $1,200 to $1,800
per year and extending eligi-
bility to 42,000 students in
households with incomes as
high as $60,000 per year by
2009-11.
*The Community Col-
lege Support Fund is at $483
million. This is $54 million
more than 2005-07, or a
12.6 percent increase. The
governor’s budget for com-
munity colleges also in-
cludes $174 million in Other
Funds for 12 capital con-
struction projects.
*The Oregon University
System (OUS) budget in-
cludes almost $41 million
additional funding for cam-
pus operations, including
funding for regional cam-
puses, faculty salaries, en-
rollment growth, and reduc-
ing student/faculty ra-
tios. The total General Fund/
Lottery Funds budget is in-
creased 14.6 percent from
2005-07.
*The OUS budget in-
cludes $594 million in Other
Funds for 45 capital con-
struction/deferred mainte-
nance projects.
*Currently, more than
117,000 children lack health
insurance. The Healthy Kids
Plan will offer affordable
health insurance options
that are expected to cover 95
percent of these children
with in th ree y ears.
The program also will in-
clude coverage for mental
health services, treatment
for substance abuse, and
dental care.
*The plan also will ex-
pand school-based health
care services, adding 13 new
school-based health cen-
ters. This will bring the to-
tal number to 60 centers in
25 counties.
*The governor’s budget
adds 139 new state troopers
for basic around-the-clock
coverage on major high-
ways. This dedicated fund-
ing comes from a proposed
auto insurance surcharge,
raising approximately $25
pitals under the Oregon
Health Plan.
*An additional $6 mil-
lion is invested in the
Healthy Start program that
provides family support for
at-risk families of first
children during the pre-natal
period through age 3. This
Governor’s budget also includes $6
million for Healthy Start program
million in the 2007-09 bien-
nium.
*The governor’s budget
expands health coverage to
an additional 10,000 to
15,000 low-income Orego-
nians through the Oregon
Health Plan “Standard” pro-
gram, above the 24,000 cur-
rently served. The budget
also increases reimburse-
ment to physicians and hos-
will increase the number of
at-risk families served by
7,600 -- from approximately
41 percent of the eligible
population to more than 50
percent.
*The budget includes
$6 million to expand the
quantity (from 10
weeks to 16 weeks) and
quality of the basic police
training to include
complex, real-life scenarios.
*Community Correc-
tions receives an additional
$25 million under a new
funding formula that more
accurately reflects the actual
costs to counties.
*The governor’s budget
includes $38.2 million to
fund the Oregon Innovation
Council Innovation Plan --
funding ocean wave energy
start-ups, strengthening de-
velopment of nanoscience,
and supporting research and
development in manufactur-
ing and Oregon food indus-
tries.
*The budget reflects a
significant increase in the
Bridge Program, as most of
the 365 bridge projects un-
der the Oregon Transporta-
tion Investment Act (OTIA
III) complete their design
phase and go into the more
expensive construction
phase.
*Another $100 million
in Lottery bonds will be sold
for the Connect Oregon Pro-
gram. This will fund a sec-
ond round of multimodal
projects for improving pub-
lic transportation, the avia-
tion system, the rail network
and marine ports.
*By the end of the
2007-09 biennium, budget
reserves are expected to to-
tal $902 million, or slightly
more than 6 percent of the
General Fund/Lottery Funds
budget.
This includes $145 mil-
lion ending balance
proposed in the governor’s
budget, $30 million in the
Emergency Fund, $452 mil-
lion in the Education Stabil-
ity Fund, and $275 in corpo-
rate kicker revenues that the
governor proposes to put in
a Rainy Day Fund.
GP cops arrest suspect in connection with youth being chased
Officers from the
Grants Pass Dept. of Public
Safety (GPDPS) arrested
Robert W. Tilton Nov. 28
after investigating reports of
a man chasing young people
near bus stops in the area of
11 th and D streets.
There were also reports
of a man of a similar de-
scription staring at employ-
ees at a hair salon. Female
employees felt that the man
was acting suspiciously and
called the police.
On Nov. 27, after re-
ceiving more calls, officers
contacted Tilton at his D
Street address. After inter-
viewing Tilton, officers de-
termined him to be the per-
son of interest and cited and
released him on a charge of
disorderly conduct.
At the time, Tilton also
was warned for his conduct
and advised to not have con-
tact with juveniles in that
area.
The next day, officers
were in the area watching
for any further suspicious
behavior. Officers left the
area and shortly thereafter,
calls were received that a
man was chasing a juvenile
near the retirement apart-
ments.
Officers responded
later, and Tilton again was
identified as the suspect. He
was uncooperative when
contacted by officers, and a
tazer was used to take him
into custody.
Tilton was transported
to Three Rivers Community
Hospital and held on a peace
officer’s mental hold. Crimi-
nal charges are being re-
ferred and the investigation
is continuing.
Anyone with informa-
tion regarding similar inci-
dents should phone GPDPS
at 474-6370.
Josephine County
Report
Issue 9
December 2006
O&C Funding
Submitted by Commissioner Jim Raffenburg
Last October, in a newspaper Guest Opinion, I briefly reviewed the cost reduction
measures the Board of Commissioners have enacted over the past two years to
reduce current expenses and contain future costs. What I didn’t say was that these
measures were undertaken with the explicit intent of minimizing the effects of the
spending cuts on residents. To recap:
By the late 1990’s, the situation was getting critical. After five very
lean years (1995-2000), Congress finally passed Public Law 106-393 into
law in 2000. For the past six years Josephine County has received Federal revenues
from this act, in large part as substitute for the lost O&C timber revenues.
Public Law 106-393 expired on September 30, 2006 without reauthorization and
the last of the revenue Josephine County receives under this Law will be received
by December 1, 2006. This lost Federal revenue represents nearly 75% of the
General Fund, which is used by the County to pay for:
100% of General Government
• Two years ago, Josephine County had nearly 700 employees. Today, there are just
over 400 employees. Instead of 17 top management positions, today there are three.
90% of Public Safety,
• Two years ago, new County employees received nine weeks paid leave after only
50% of Public Health,
one year of employment and also received a 6% deferred compensation match
benefit. Today the 6% deferred comp match is gone and paid leave is based on
length of employment.
• Two years ago, the County had virtually no reserve funds. Today, we have nearly
$5,000,000 in reserve and hope to increase that amount by next June 30 th .
These efforts have not been without pain. County employees have had to change
their expectations. Some employees left because they did not support the enacted
changes. Others stayed because they believe in and are committed to providing
vital services to citizens.
That brings me to the main point of this article. After Public Law 106-393 expired
on September 30, 2006, the County entered an era of new financial realities.
Timber receipts from the O&C lands have all but stopped. Why? Over the past
forty years, the Federal government has passed an ever increasing number of new
laws that restrict the use of both the O&C lands and National Forest Lands for
resource use, in favor of environmental protection. Anyone who has lived here for
more than twenty years knows full well the devastating effect the lost family wage
jobs have levied on our County. The lumber mills are gone and the family wage
jobs they offered went with them.
New residents don’t remember those family wage jobs or the stable economy they
fostered. Today, we have many new residents who see the County as a great place
to live. The main difference between today and twenty years ago is that many of
the new residents don’t need to make a living based upon the local economy.
What’s more, many new residents factor in the low property taxes as a reason for
choosing Josephine County as their new home.
How many of you have ever wondered why those property taxes were so
low? The answer to that is quite simple: O&C timber receipts.
The O&C Act of 1937 was passed by Congress to provide annual compensation to
the 18 Oregon Counties that had homestead land reclaimed by the Federal
Government. Josephine County lost more than 300,000 acres of land meant to be
homesteaded. The O&C Act represents the Federal government’s recognition of
their permanent responsibility to compensate local governments for taking those
lands off the tax rolls. This method of compensation worked for fifty years.
Then it all changed.
The late 1980’s saw the first of many successful environmental lawsuits, which
have now halted the harvesting of significant amounts of timber in our region.
No timber harvest, no timber revenue to the counties.
By the early 1990’s, the impact of the lost timber revenues began affecting govern-
ment services and as a result property tax rates started to rise. Soon thereafter,
opponents of higher property taxes succeeded in winning voter approval of
Measures 5 and 50 which have essentially “frozen in place” the low
tax rates from the days of good timber revenues.
Published bi-monthly by the
Josephine County
Board of Commissioners
Dwight F. Ellis, Chair
Jim Raffenburg, Vice Chair
Jim Riddle, Commissioner
25% of Planning
For the current Budget Year of 2006/2007, the General Fund was set at
$21,000,000. Next Budget Year (2007/2008), the General Fund will be about
$8,000,000. Public Safety alone this year was budgeted at more than $14,000,000.
You can not buy the same level of service with eight million dollars that you can
with twenty-one million. You can’t cut or save your way out of that situation either.
When the biggest property owner in the County tells you they are no longer going
to pay what is the equivalent of their property taxes, even though they signed a
contract to do so 70 years ago, the County can not just shrug its’ collective shoulder
and say, “Oh well, let’s just accept it and ask all the other property owners to pay
more”. To do so would be completely unfair to local property owners.
But we must also face the harsh truth that if the Federal Government is willing to
cause such great harm to not only the people of Josephine County but to citizens
across forty other states as well, it means this issue is not likely to be resolved
anytime soon. And that means we are effectively on our own, at least for the
short-term.
So what do we do?
L ong term, we must work with the other 17 O&C Counties (and the Association of
all 36 Oregon Counties) to convince the Governor and the State Legislature to
become actively involved in convincing Congress to do the right thing and either
resume payment of their financial obligations to the damaged counties or to allow
those same counties to manage the Federal lands under State Law for resource
production and revenue.
Short term, we (meaning both local government and property owners) face the very
difficult financial reality that if local public services are to continue, any cost
beyond what we have been able to save or take in through user fees and existing
taxes, are going to have to be paid for with additional local money.
As your local elected representatives, it will be our job to explain why we need
those new taxes and show you with total clarity how and where these new tax
dollars will be spent. Between now and next May, you should expect to see many
of us all doing exactly that.
I/we pledge that we will not ask you for more than we need, and we promise to be
transparent in how we spend your money. We have done everything possible to
reduce and contain costs. There may be a few savings left to wring out, but not
enough to change the current situation in any meaningful way. We have done (and
will continue to do) what we can from the inside to keep costs to a minimum. But in
the end, we will have to ask you to decide what you can or will do to pay for the
remaining costs of providing local government services until we sort out the larger
issue with the Federal Government regarding the replacement of the lost
O&C money.
Visit our website for
current County information:
www.co.josephine.or.us
and
Commissioner Raffenburg’s Commentary
(Click on County Commissioners
then Jim Raffenburg’s Name)
County Courthouse
500 N.W. Sixth Street
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
Phone 474-5221
Fax 474-5105
email: bcc@co.josephine.or.us
www.co.josephine.or.us