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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2017 Timber suit: Forest products industry averages $13 billion in yearly sales Continued from Page 1A action item Monday, but took no action. The Seaside School District also took no action and will remain in the claim. Views on lawsuit as director of the Port of Port- land. The agency announced earlier this month that Wyatt would retire in June. In his entourage was deputy execu- tive director and heir apparent Curtis Robinhold. While Port commission- ers and Jewell School Board members made no comment about their decisions, the college’s meeting, lasting less than 10 minutes in front of a packed crowd, included a roundtable presentation for board members to share their views on the lawsuit. Board member Anne Teaford-Cantor, who voted to opt out, said she had orig- inally been for staying in the lawsuit, but changed her opinion after an earlier exec- utive session, during which the college board met with Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist and the coun- ty’s lawyer in the case, John DiLorenzo. “I think that the money (for a settlement) would have to come from some- where, and I also base this on 20 years of experience in and around the legal pro- fession,” Cantor said. “The expectations for how much we might get out of (a settle- ment) are high.” Choke point Fiscal responsibilities On Monday night in Til- lamook, Wyatt said, he heard from two brothers — a trucker and a farmer, both members of the Tillamook County Cream- ery Association — who need to get goods to the creamery’s processing facility in Board- man. The focus of their com- plaints about transportation was not on fixing problems in Tillamook County, he said, but on the gridlock in Portland. Wyatt said he’s heard similar concerns from shippers in the Willamette Valley and other regions, all stymied by grid- lock in the state’s largest met- ropolitan area. “As a legislator 30 years ago, that’s not something I would have heard here or any- where else in nonurban Ore- gon,” he said. Wyatt said Oregon has ignored transportation for too long and is falling behind Cal- ifornia and Washington state, which have made significant, tax-funded investments in infrastructure. “If we do nothing in Ore- gon this year, the state of Idaho will spend more on road sys- tem improvements than Ore- gon will,” he said. “And … Idaho’s a state that’s about 10 percent our size.” Wyatt said the possibility of a big transportation pack- age only comes along about once every decade, but that Gov. Kate Brown’s adminis- tration has broached the pos- sibility this year. Oregon has revenue challenges and a pro- jected budget shortfall, but lagging infrastructure, he said, is a weight around the ankles Board members Karen Burke, Robert Duehmig and Chairwoman Rosemary Baker-Monaghan, who voted to stay in, said their primary fiscal responsibil- ities are to make the best decision for the college and its students. “I don’t think that if we were to opt out that it would make any difference in whether the suit would go forward or not,” Burke said. Baker-Monaghan, who has a background in the for- est industry, said her opin- Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Guests listen to a presentation about transportation during an event Tuesday at the Barbey Maritime Center. Transportation: ‘We have a number of obstacles in front of us’ Continued from Page 1A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, listens to Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt speak during an event on transportation. of the regional economy. “That’s a big message from me to you,” Wyatt said. “Tax increases aren’t any fun. It’s a big challenge to be sure. But if we don’t continue to make some progress on this front, we’re just going to get behind.” ‘Get to yes’ State Sen. Betsy John- son explained efforts to pass a large transportation bill amid an estimated $1.8 billion bud- get shortfall and the voter rejection of a sales tax measure in November that would have raised an estimated $3 billion a year in new revenue. Johnson helped pass what she called the state’s last major transportation package, the Jobs and Transportation Act in 2009, and is part of the Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and Moderniza- tion, a collection of 14 legis- lators trying to pass another package this year. “We probably have, con- servatively, $20 billion worth of unfulfillable expectations,” Johnson, D-Scappoose, said of all the transportation requests she’s heard in meetings around the state. Gas tax increases have failed nine times, Johnson said, and there is a more embold- ened environmental commu- nity such as cyclists, electric car-drivers and pedestrians who don’t contribute to the transportation budget through gas taxes but want a bigger piece of the budget. “I remain cautiously — I won’t say optimistic — cau- tiously encouraged that we will be able to do something,” she said. “But we have a num- ber of obstacles in front of us. “And the message that I have been sharing with what- ever group I get to appear in front of is you all have con- stituencies that you go back and associate your views, and your politics and your activ- ism with. Tell everybody to get their ‘get to yes’ face on.” Tax reform: Gov. Brown laid out several new taxes to address the state’s revenue shortfall Continued from Page 1A has largely distanced her- self from the push for rev- enue reform since the fail- ure of Measure 97, which she endorsed. In her proposed bud- get last month, Brown laid out several new taxes to address the state’s revenue shortfall but excluded any that would raise business taxes. “She has seven taxes we’re supposed to vote on individu- ally, but basically, long-term she’s thinking 2018,” Court- ney said. “This also compli- cates this long-term perfect fix” that some lawmakers are pursuing. In an email to the EO Media Group/Pamplin Media Group Capital Bureau, Chris Pair, a spokesman for Brown, did not address the governor’s preference for timing in reve- nue reform. “The cuts proposed put into human terms the dev- astating consequences fam- ilies face with a tax system that is unstable, inadequate, and fundamentally out of bal- ance to meet Oregon’s essen- tial needs,” Pair wrote in the email. “While Gov. Brown will continue working hard to make sure state government does more with less, she main- tains that we must work to develop a long-term solution that doesn’t put Oregonians at risk every two years. “Gov. Brown looks forward to working with legislators, business leaders and advocates to come together on these tough choices and build a bud- get and revenue package that keeps the doors of opportunity open for all Oregonians.” Kotek said this year is the best time for lawmakers to reform the revenue system. “I don’t want to wait until ’18 because we might be deal- ing with a whole different set of problems … because of what the federal government decides to do,” Kotek said. “There is a lot of unknowns on the horizon.” If public unions, business leaders and lawmakers aren’t serious about negotiating a solution to the revenue sys- tem this year, then “we have to move on and stick to dead- lines,” Kotek said. Lawmak- ers could look at just making a combination of cuts and small tax increases to address the revenue shortfall. “The next month or so we have a window of opportunity to talk about something bigger, and it’s going to be up to other Oregonians besides us trying to push them to come to the table,” Kotek said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. ions on forest manage- ment don’t matter to the case. Based on public input received, she said, it could be difficult for the college to pass a bond, increase tui- tion or support the founda- tion if the suit prevails and the college passed up on a settlement. Board member Patrick Wingard ran off a slew of facts about the forest prod- ucts industry, which he said averages $13 billion in yearly sales and comprises 11 percent of the state’s eco- nomic output. “I, too, feel it’s my responsibility to the college, to the students, to our staff, to the institution, to the com- munity, to ensure we make the best decisions that are in our fiscal health,” he said. “I feel that decision is to opt out.” Board member Tessa Scheller said the lawsuit is about increased timber har- vests instead of helping stu- dents. A vote to opt out, she said, respects ongoing edu- cation and public discourse around the forest’s greatest permanent value, while the lawsuit could result in an even bigger budget deficit than the state already faces. “What I see as the big- gest problem is the very twisted coupling of educa- tion and state forestry prac- tices and policies, much like the state lottery being cou- pled to parks and water- shed protections,” she said. “Gambling advocates can disingenuously argue that gambling does good things, when in fact it’s a social problem disguised as a sin tax. Funding for education and forest policy deserve to be evaluated on their sepa- rate merits.” Board member Esther Moberg was not present, but submitted a vote to opt out via email. Your partner in Health & Wellness What are your goals this year? 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