10 - SANDY (Ore.) POST Thur«., Apr.l 28. 1977 (Sec 2)
Salem Scene
Small forest landowners appealing taxes on land
(Ed. note: Salem Scene is a
leg is la tive report provided for
weekly newspapers by Jack
Zim m erm an
of
Associated
Oregon Industries.)
County
Boards
of
Equalization—those bodies to
which property owners appeal
their tax bills w ill begin
hearing from distressed tax
payers on Monday. May 9.
Observers believe those
boards might be swamped by
petitioners, particularly in 19
western Oregon counties.
Swelling the steadily growing
number seeking redress this
year, they reason, likely w ill be
many of the 36.000 owners of
small woodland property—the
value of which has been in
creased 100 to 150 per cent by
order of the Department of
Revenue
The order, announced Feb.
23, raised previous forest land
Highway transfer approved
values 2.5 times in counties
from Lane north and doubled
true cash value in counties
from Douglas south It is
estimated the valuation in
crease w ill cost affected land
owners an additional $5 m illion
this year.
Separate
Boards
of
Equalization have been part of
Oregon law since 1871 and
boards, as we know them, were
authorized by the legislature in
1953
The transfer of the Canby
Marquam Secondary Highway
in return for the Boring County
Road was approved last week
by the Oregon Transportation
Commission.
The transfer was originally
proposed by Clackamas County
at the Dec 21, 1976. meeting of
the commission with the un
derstanding that Goods Bridge
would have to be reconstructed
at county expense
Goods Bridge is a narrow
structure with one-way traffic
for trucks and buses on the
Canby-Marquam Highway.
The Canby-Marquam High
way is 8 miles long while the
Clackamas cows said
udderly the best
Clackamas County dairymen
met recently to review the 1976
dairy
herd im provem ent
program and recognize high
producing herds and cows.
The Clackamas County Dairy
Herd Improvement Assoc,
posted it’s highest average
milk production in the 50 years
of the association.
D a iry
herd
production
awards went to the David
Timm herd at Eagle Creek,
which recorded 18,468 lbs. of
m ilk per cow. The Timm herd
also posted the greatest
production improvement.
High producing cow in the
county was “Norma,” a seven-
and-one-half-year-old Holstein
from the Paul Weber herd in
West Linn.
Clackamas County cows are
generally recognized as being
above the state average in m ilk
production.
Boring County Road, which
extends from the Clackamas
Highway to the Mt. Hood High
way. is 8.5 miles long
Boring Road is in a rapidly
developing residential area
between the communities of
Damascus and Boring
It is functionally classified as
a minor arterial, a classfication
more appropriate for a state
highway and e lig ib le fo r
prim ary
federal-aid funds,
while the Canby-Marquam
Highway
is
fu n c tio n a lly
classified as a major collector,
the classification that would
apply to many county roads.
In each county one member
is named from the county court
or board of commissioners.
Another is from the budget
committee or tax supervising
and conservation commission.
The third, chosen by the first
two, is a lay member (non-
office-holding freeholder).
Taxpayers who believe their
property is unjustly appraised
(and taxed,) need only contact
their courthouse to obtain a
form to be filled out and
returned before May 16. There
is no charge, they don't need a
lawyer to plead their case and
they needn't even be present
when the board considers their
appeal.
But only those who appeal
can expect redress
Even
though a board may grant a
reduction for a petitioner, his
immediate neighbor cannot
expect the same treatment
unless he appeals also.
Chances of gaining relief
from an equalization board
generally are pretty good, if the
property owner makes a logical
case.
And forest land owners
believe the revenue depart
m ent's va luation increase
provides them with a logical
reason to complain. The in
crease was invoked in ac
cordance with law requiring
those properties be appraised
at market value. The depart
ment conducted a study of
forest land sales and came up
with its figures as a result.
Owners of forest land dispute
the department's study and
offered data on land sales in
dicating market value was no
higher than the year before
They claim their records are
more extensive than those
produced by the state and
reflect a more accurate picture
of current values.
They also claim the increase
is a serious blow to the forest
economy, which must practice
intensified management of
timberlands to sustain present
production and employment.
Private owners of forest land
claim the valuation increase
could remove as much as
120,000 acres of c u rren t
m a r g in a l
tr e e - g r o w in g
property from economic in
vestm ent
for
m axim um
production. In land area, that
represents forests growing on
acreage equal to half the total
size of Multnomah County.
Upon
announcing
the
valuation increases, revenue
director John J. Lobdell said he
recognized the hardship the
action presents for owners of
small timberlands.
“ And it is not compatible
with our goal of maintaining
forest land in Oregon,” he said.
“ But the law is clear—forest
lands are to be assessed at
market value.”
attended a meeting Thursday
in the Boring Fire Hall. The
meeting was for comments on
the zoning plan.
He said persons should
MHCC teacher noted
for jazz contribution
Hal Malcolm. Mt. Hood are following the lead of people
Community
College music like Hal Malcolm of Mt. Hoed
in s t r u c t o r ,
r e c e iv e d C om m unity
College
in
recognition in the March issue Gresham, who founded the
of The Choral Journal, a Northwest Vocal Jazz Festival
national publication by the nine years ago,” Grier wrote
American Choral Directors
This year MHCC w ill host the
Association.
Northwest Vocal Jazz Festival
Journal w riter Gene Grier, in w ith
guest vo calist Joe
the jazz a nd show choir column, Williams on May 21 Williams
discussed
the increasing previously performed with the
popularity of vocal jazz, swing Count Basie Band
and show choirs in education
More than 3,000 students
and the need to develop criteria from high schools throughout
for judging these groups in the Northwest are expected to
competition.
participate in the festival
“ More and more directors
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BANG posts map
for input on changes
posted after about 70 persors
Service
Specialists
/////Y '
In “ Black Comedy,” student
Mark Haacke plays a young
artists whose hopes of selling
his works to a wealthy art
collected are frustrated by a
blown fuse and a comic conflict
among several people involved
during the sudden electrical
blackout.
pinpoint their property and
then comment on how they
would like it zoned The map
w ill be posted for two weeks
and then w ill be brought to the
county planning staff. The
citizen recommendations w ill
be included in a group of
amendments to the zoning plan
that w ill be presented to the
county board
Welden said BANG w ill
review the recommendations
with area rseidents at a May 19
meeting before it is submitted
to the county board
STEREO
Restaurant |
Rounding out the cast are
Lori Workman, Kay Jaggers,
“ White Lia rs” features a Steve Joachim, Dan Sanders,
woman fortune teller caught in Jim Bradley, Phyllis Boyer and
a conflict between a rock Tim Gileron.
musician and his manager
A second spring theater
MHCC student Berta Limbaugh
w ill play the fortune teller. production at MHCC w ill be
Students Jerry Lambert and “ Man of La Mancha,” directed
R ichard
Melo.
P er
Dan Cathcart play the two men, by
formances
are
set
for
the
end
of
and Tim Watts w ill be heard as
May and the first week of June.
a voice from the past.
BORING—A copy of the
Boring-Kelso zoning map
approved by the Clackamas
County Commissioners is
posted in the old B orir^ Post
Office building for persons who
want to comment on the way
their property was zoned.
BANG
President
D ick
Welden said the map was
IJ lijli
Lobdell encouraged forest
land owners to seek relief by
legislative action and several
bills address the problem
during current deliberations in
Salem.
Organizations of timberland
owners are actively pursuing
passage of new laws but they
also are urging members to
seek immediate relief from
local Equalization Boards If
appeals at that level fail, they
intend to continue their pleas
through the Department of
Revenue and the Oregon Tax
Court.
Crux of their argument w ill
be that market value of their
land was greatly inflated by the
state study. And yet another
burden, heaped upon those they
presently carry, w ill only serve
to reduce that value further.
One owner of a small timber
tract bemoans the fact taxes on
his land, trees and payroll
—coupled with government
regulations, restrictions and
fees - present a bigger threat to
his forest than fire, disease and
insects combined.
Two one act plays
open MHCC spring
Two one act plays by Peter
Shaffer w ill open the Mt. Hood
Community College Players
spring season later this month.
The two plays, “ White Liars”
and “ Black Comedy,” w ill be
presented April 29-30 and May
6-7at8p.m. in the MHCCStudio
Theater. Director is Dave
Spooner, college theater in
structor
TV
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