2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
Employers weighing benefits of pension liability payments
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — It’s not yet
clear how many of the state’s
public employers will use a
new state program meant to
address the state’s public pen-
sion debt.
A little time, and a lot of
math, stand between now and
the answer.
Oregon has an unfunded
public pension liability of
about $25.3 billion. Gov. Kate
Brown has been seeking ways
to pay down that debt, largely
benefits already earned by
retirees that can’t legally be
altered.
A bill requested by Brown
and passed by lawmakers in
the recently concluded legisla-
tive session, Senate Bill 1566,
established a special incen-
tive fund. Qualifying pub-
lic employers are to receive a
match of 25 percent of a one-
time, lump-sum payment they
make toward their share of the
$25.3 billion liability.
The bill also created a
separate School Districts
Unfunded Liability Fund,
which will distribute money
to a new account to help
school districts offset growing
pension costs.
Both are funded by one-
time revenue sources expected
to generate about $140 mil-
lion — $25 million for the
match and $115 million for
the school fund.
Rob Bovett, legal counsel
for the Association of Oregon
Counties, says many coun-
ties are interested in the match
program, though he has yet to
hear of any that have decided
whether to use it or not.
Bovett says the 25 percent
match makes a difference in
the face of skyrocketing per-
centage of payroll that pub-
lic employers devote to the
Public Employees Retirement
System.
“With six years of really
dramatic
employer
rate
increases, there is going to be
a significant loss of public ser-
vices, and this is a way to stem
the tide,” Bovett said.
It will also take some time
for school districts to figure
out whether the matching pro-
gram will work for them, says
Boozers will be required
to stay off the beach at Sauvie
Island this summer.
Commissioners with the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife have banned alco-
holic beverages between May
1 and Sept. 30 in the Sauvie
Island Wildlife Area.
The ban takes effect this
year, and is expected to be
permanent.
In 2017, police officers
arrested at least 17 people for
driving under the influence of
intoxicants as they puttered
away from some of Sauvie
Island’s most popular beaches
— including Collins, Walton,
Willow Bar and North Unit.
About one-third of all DUII
arrests made in Columbia
County between April 1 and
Aug. 3 stemmed from tipsy
visits to the island, according
to a press release.
“The last couple of years
we’ve noticed a lot of issues
… We’ve documented all
evaluate whether making the
contribution to the matching
fund is worth the cost of the
contribution, Green said.
Green rattled off a list of
potential needs that $25,000
could help pay for, especially
in a small school district: a
new part-time special educa-
tion aide, career and techni-
cal education programming, a
new school bus or roof.
“At each and every turn
we need to do what will have
a bigger impact on students,”
Green said.
Public employers will
know more about whether the
program suits them once PERS
rates are set later this year, and
more still in mid-2019, when
the state’s next two-year bud-
get will be finalized.
And in the meantime,
the PERS board still has to
go through a rule-making
process, which is expected
to lay out more details,
including how the spe-
cial school districts liability
fund is distributed among
districts.
While it’s a good initial
step, Green says, tackling the
debt in the long run is going
to require a lot more than the
roughly $140 million Senate
Bill 1566 has laid out.
“It’s a lot of money, but as
I’ve said before, this problem
has a lot more zeroes behind
it,” Green said.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Lewis and Clark Bridge reopens
after backpacks investigated
Booze ban approved for Sauvie Island
By ZANE SPARLING
Pamplin Media Group
Jim Green, executive director
of the Oregon School Boards
Association.
For a small or medi-
um-sized district, the program
could help to temper those dra-
matic rate increases from year
to year — say, instead of leap-
ing from 26 percent of payroll
to 33 percent, they might go
from 26 to 30 percent.
“It’s not just pure math,”
Green said. “It’s also, what
could we do in our district if
we had that money that goes
to that PERS increase?”
Under the new bill, public
employers that want to get the
matching funds would have
to contribute a minimum of
$25,000.
That will mean that
employers will also have to
of that. And it’s got nothing
but worse,” ODFW spokes-
man Rick Swart recently told
KOIN.
Sauvie Island’s scenic
sands lure up to 16,000 visitors
a day during the peak season
and more than 488,000 people
total between May and Sep-
tember, which effectively over-
whelms local law enforcement.
Oregon State Police troop-
ers believe the ban will
decrease the amount of crime
as well as calls for emergency
medical help.
Associated Press
LONGVIEW, Wash. —
Authorities reopened a bridge
between Longview, Washing-
ton, and Rainier that had been
shut down for hours because
of suspicious backpacks on
the Oregon side.
Oregon State Police say
that authorities responded
at about 10:20 a.m. Monday
to reports of a man lowering
backpacks from the bridge
over the Columbia River.
Police say the Ore-
gon State Patrol Bomb Unit
deployed a robot which was
used to X-ray the bags but the
results were inconclusive. The
team then used a high pres-
sure water cannon mounted
on the robot to reveal the con-
tents. Police say the bags con-
tained clothing and miscella-
neous personal property.
Police say 61-year-old
Samuel Owen of Rainier
was arrested on suspicion
of disorderly conduct, pos-
session of a user quantity
of methamphetamine, sec-
ond-degree theft, third-degree
criminal mischief and felon
in possession of a restricted
weapon. Police say the inci-
dent was related to a dispute
between Owen and another
person.
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
53
39
35
Mostly cloudy
Cloudy and chilly with
occasional rain
Mostly cloudy, a little
rain; chilly
Full
Salem
40/54
Newport
41/51
Mar 31
Coos Bay
44/52
New
Apr 8
Apr 15
John Day
39/57
DUII
• At 11:58 p.m. Monday,
Olivia Tess Hinson, 28, of
Cannon Beach, was arrested
by Oregon State Police on
U.S. Highway 101 near Gear-
hart and charged with driving
under the influence of intox-
Baker
34/53
Burns
31/53
Klamath Falls
35/52
Lakeview
33/49
Ashland
43/61
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
11:03 a.m.
10:57 p.m.
Low
0.2 ft.
1.7 ft.
Today
Lo
34
34
46
41
37
35
43
39
41
44
W
c
sf
c
c
pc
c
c
c
c
c
Hi
53
55
53
53
51
52
63
53
51
53
Wed.
Lo
46
39
40
39
41
39
45
41
40
41
W
c
c
r
r
r
sh
r
r
r
r
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
57
58
61
61
60
54
51
59
60
63
Today
Lo
30
38
40
45
40
36
32
41
38
32
W
pc
c
c
c
c
pc
pc
c
c
pc
Hi
56
60
56
58
54
53
51
54
54
60
Wed.
Lo
40
50
44
42
42
40
42
39
43
42
W
c
c
r
r
r
r
c
r
r
c
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Lo
37
30
29
28
27
26
49
5
71
27
29
57
58
38
68
34
51
31
37
30
31
43
55
37
34
Hi
53
53
57
58
51
51
60
60
55
59
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
s
sn
pc
c
c
pc
c
sh
s
c
pc
c
s
sn
c
pc
r
pc
sn
Hi
54
36
41
61
48
42
82
23
81
42
58
76
66
57
80
49
69
34
67
33
50
63
65
58
38
Wed.
Lo
34
32
26
36
34
25
58
0
72
23
40
59
60
38
54
32
52
30
48
28
32
51
56
43
29
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
sn
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
c
pc
s
c
r
pc
s
s
s
sn
s
sn
pc
c
r
c
sn
APPLIANCE
AND HOME
FURNISHINGS
529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON
503-861-0929
IN
YE TSOP
C LA NTY
C OU
son in the car, allegedly then
moved over to the passenger
seat and denied driving when
she was arrested. She later
refused to take a breath test at
the Clatsop County Jail, where
she was restrained in a chair
for a blood draw.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commission,
4 p.m., Port offices, 10 Pier 1,
Suite 209.
Astoria Library Board, 5:30
p.m., Flag Room, 450 10th St.
Seaside School District Board
of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S.
Franklin, Seaside.
Clatsop Community College
Board, 6:30 p.m., South County
Campus, 1455 N. Roosevelt
Drive, Seaside.
Shoreline Sanitary District
Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart
Hertig Station, 33496 West
Lake Lane, Warrenton.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, 7 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY
Seaside Tourism Advisory Com-
mittee, 3 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Monday’s Megabucks: 1-12-
16-34-41-46
Estimated jackpot: $1.8 million
WASHINGTON
Monday’s Daily Game: 9-3-7
Monday’s Hit 5: 06-10-13-24-
33
Estimated jackpot: $190,000
Monday’s Keno: 04-05-10-13-
27-30-37-40-45-50-51-54-56-
59-63-69-72-74-75-79
Monday’s Lotto: 01-05-19-39-
45-47
Estimated jackpot: $3.1 million
Monday’s Match 4: 03-10-13-
16
OBITUARY POLICY
PACKAGE DEALS
Mattresses, Furniture
& More!
icants, reckless driving and
attempting to elude police with
a vehicle. After a trooper tried
to pull her over just south of
Warrenton, she allegedly con-
tinued southbound before
police eventually were able to
stop her. Hinson, the only per-
Feb. 22, 2018
MARTINEZ, Argelia and Victor, of Warrenton, a girl, Salma Eleanor Martinez, born at Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. Grandparents are Placido Martinez of Los Angeles, Josefina
Dominguez of Puebla, Mexico, Porfirio Mendez of Long Beach, Washington, and Carolina Alva-
rez of Seaside.
OREGON
Monday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 4-0-5-8
4 p.m.: 6-9-5-2
7 p.m.: 6-8-2-2
10 p.m.: 8-6-4-7
Monday’s Lucky Lines: 04-07-
10-14-18-24-27-29
Estimated jackpot: $11,000
APPLIANCE
3 A 0 RS
board space will be rented for
one month, and the organization
hopes the advertisement gets
at least one person to consider
going vegan.
She says the nonprofit bought
similar billboards following
recent cattle truck crashes in
Tennessee and Louisiana.
LOTTERIES
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
Over
side outside Madras.
The billboard will feature a
cow next to the words “I’m ME,
Not MEAT. See the individual.
Go Vegan.”
People for the Ethical Treat-
ment of Animals spokeswoman
Amber Canavan tells The Bul-
letin newspaper that the bill-
BIRTH
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Associated Press
ON THE RECORD
La Grande
38/55
Ontario
40/60
Bend
34/55
PETA billboard to memorialize cattle killed
MADRAS — An ani-
mal-rights group says it’s buy-
ing billboard space along
U.S. Highway 26 to memori-
alize 14 calves that died last
week when the truck they
were riding in rolled onto its
Roseburg
45/58
Brookings
46/53
Tonight's Sky: Spring begins with the vernal equi-
nox at 9:15 a.m. PDT.
Hi
67
38
39
54
41
42
71
31
81
42
48
69
70
49
89
51
70
39
60
34
44
59
59
56
39
Lebanon
41/54
Medford
43/63
UNDER THE SKY
High
9.1 ft.
7.6 ft.
Prineville
34/58
Eugene
41/53
Last
Pendleton
38/60
The Dalles
40/59
Portland
40/56
Sunset tonight ........................... 7:28 p.m.
Sunrise Wednesday .................... 7:17 a.m.
Moonrise today ........................... 9:15 a.m.
Moonset today ......................... 11:14 p.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
48
36
Chilly with rain
Tillamook
36/53
SUN AND MOON
Time
4:21 a.m.
5:16 p.m.
46
34
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
35/53
Precipitation
Monday ............................................ 0.00"
Month to date ................................... 1.89"
Normal month to date ....................... 4.71"
Year to date .................................... 20.50"
Normal year to date ........................ 22.10"
Mar 24
SATURDAY
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Monday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 54°/35°
Normal high/low ........................... 54°/39°
Record high ............................ 72° in 1914
Record low ............................. 26° in 1965
First
48
37
Occasional rain
ALMANAC
FRIDAY
HOURS OPEN: MON-FRI 8-6 * SATURDAY * SUNDAY 10-4
We Service What We Sell
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