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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2018)
County budget increased for third straight year Commissioners back $70.1M spending plan By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Clatsop County’s bud- get for the upcoming fiscal year has been set at $70.1 million. County commissioners voted unanimously Wednes- day to adopt the spend- ing plan for the fiscal year, which begins Sunday. The budget represents a 34 per- cent increase over the past three years. A large chunk of that money comes from funds that were saved and have rolled over into the cur- rent fiscal year. Contin- gency funds accounted for $18.4 million of the budget last year and will total $21.8 million this year. “It looks like your budget is increasing, but some of that is just contingencies,” Budget and Finance Direc- tor Monica Steele said. For county employ- ees, a rise in the cost of liv- ing adjustment, health ben- efits and the state Public Employees Retirement Sys- tem have also driven the increase, Steele said. The budget includes room for nine new full-time employ- ees, bringing the capac- ity of the county govern- ment workforce to 222. The county hopes to hire a land use code compliance officer, building inspector and sev- eral Public Works Depart- ment employees. Included in the budget is $20,000 in additional funds available for the county to give to outside agen- cies. The allotment for out- side agencies — typically nonprofit organizations — was slashed in half during an economic downturn to $15,000. Commissioners had discussed increasing the amount at previous meet- ings, and the county Human Services Advisory Council has recommended a bump. “We certainly do know that we have these prob- lems in our community — higher than a lot of the other rural counties — and I don’t know how we would assess all of this,” Commissioner Sarah Nebeker said. “But that’s why these early inter- vention programs are so essential, because down the road, it will help alleviate some of those more expen- sive later problems into ado- lescence and adulthood.” County finalizes jail ballot measure Will ask taxpayers for $20 million By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Taxpayers will be asked in November to approve up to $20 million in general obligation bonds for the pro- posed Clatsop County Jail relocation. County commissioners gave a nod in March to place the plan on the general elec- tion ballot at a $23.8 mil- lion price tag. County offi- cials have said some of the money for the project could come from a special proj- ect fund and cash reserves. The bonds would cost tax- payers about 21 cents per $1,000 in assessed prop- erty value, or about $42 per year for $200,000 in property value, according to the sher- iff’s office. If voters approve the bond, the jail will be relocated from Duane Street in Astoria to the former North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in War- renton. Capacity would rise from 60 inmates to 148 with room for future expansion. Due to overcrowding, several inmates are released each week before their court cases are resolved without posting bail. Officials say that with- out a new jail, the county will have to rent beds from other jails outside of the area. Remodeling the now-defunct youth correctional facility is estimated to cost about half as much as building a new facility. In other business Wednes- day, commissioners: • Approved a three-year collective bargaining agree- ment with county employees. The agreement specifies that yearly wage adjustments will range from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. Federal agents make arrests at Portland ICE building By JIM RYAN The Oregonian At least nine protesters were arrested as authorities broke up part of the protest camp surrounding southwest Port- land’s Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement headquar- ters early this morning. Federal authorities issued a brief statement saying, in part, that “federal law enforcement officers initiated a law enforce- ment action to reopen” the building, which is on South- west Macadam Avenue. Shortly after 6 a.m., dozens of officers, some in riot gear, were lined up on the streets and outside the building entrance. Macadam had been blocked by police vehicles. By 7:30 a.m., the camp immediately surrounding the headquarters had been torn down. But much of the camp on adjacent properties remained. Dozens of protesters contin- ued to mill around Southwest Bancroft Street and Moody Avenue. They heckled offi- cers a line of officers blocking access to the headquarters, but no clashes were reported. Also about 7:30 a.m., vehi- cles were seen entering the driveway to the building, which had been blocked by protesters for more than week. Roughly 20 minutes later, traf- fic began to flow on Southwest Macadam Avenue and Moody avenues as well as Ban- croft Street, though the street directly in front of the head- Anna Spoerre/The Oregonian A protester is arrested as authorities broke up part of the protest camp surrounding southwest Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters. quarters remained blocked. Protesters had torn down at least one wooden wall that had been erected at the camp and were taking down a second wall, parallel to Bancroft. ICE officials raised the flag above the headquarters about 9:30 p.m., drawing jeers from the crowd. Protesters have been posted up outside the building in a round-the-clock occupation for well more than a week. Robert Sperling, Federal Protective Service spokes- man, said U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents in riot gear were on scene clearing federal property to facilitate the reopening of the building. Oregon voters will likely have a chance this November to decide whether they want to make it harder for politicians to curtail current tax breaks and raise fees. Currently the state’s con- stitution requires the Legis- lature to have a supermajor- ity, or three-fifths vote, to raise taxes. That’s been interpreted as applying only to passing new taxes. But proponents of Initiative 31 believe the supermajority vote should also apply to scal- ing back current tax breaks and raising fees, both of which also raise revenue for the state. “Voters in Oregon more than 20 years ago gave a direc- tive to the politicians and bureaucrats that they wanted a supermajority to raise taxes in Salem and … [politicians] have found loopholes to get around the will of the voters,” said Derrick DeGroot, one of the measure’s chief petitioners and the chair of the Klamath County Commission. The coalition of groups backing the measure, includ- ing the Oregon Association of Realtors and the Oregon Home Builders Association, have until July 6 to submit 117,578 valid signatures. As of Wednesday, they had submitted 174,006. They measure has raised more than $1 million, with realtors being the measure’s biggest financial backer. Proponents of the measure have been galvanized in recent years by votes they believe should have required a super- majority but instead fell along party lines. During the 2017 legislative session, the majority of House Democrats voted to curtail a tax break by around $100 million eral Protective Services said the goal of today’s action was to provide access to the ICE building. Once that was accomplished, he said there were no plans to completely clear the encampment from the surrounding area. When asked what would happen if protesters move back onto the property, Sperling replied: “We will be here for as long as we need to be.” Roberta Altstadttat, spokes- woman for TriMet, which owns and leases out much of the property near the ICE headquarters, said the agency is “checking with property partners” after this morning’s action. Massive baby boom helping starfish recovery By CASSANDRA PROFITA Oregon Public Broadcasting Scientists say starfish populations are recover- ing from a devastating die- off with help from a massive baby boom. A wasting disease in 2014 took an unprecedented toll on sea stars up and down the West Coast. It nearly wiped out the populations of starfish ecol- ogist Bruce Menge has stud- ied for decades with Oregon State University. Then the babies started coming. “To find one of these tiny sea stars was always sort of an exciting event because it was so rare,” Menge said. “But in the spring and sum- mer of 2015, most sites had lots of tiny little sea stars.” At one site, he counted hundreds of baby starfish in an area no bigger than his handprint. Now, those babies are getting bigger. “The babies have grown into juveniles and continue to grow at actually a pretty fast rate,” he said. “When the animals mature to adulthood, chances are the numbers will actually be higher than they were before the disease.” Menge said he still sees signs of the wasting dis- ease in adult starfish, but it’s much less common than before. New research suggests the new sea star populations may be evolving to promote genetic resistance to the virus causing the wasting disease. “Most of the babies seem to have survived, so maybe there was selection at the stage of the larvae,” Menge said. “The ones that settled and survived were the ones that were resistant.” Oregon voters could rein in Legislature on taxes, fees By LAUREN DAKE Oregon Public Broadcasting Sperling said about 5:30 p.m. authorities warned pro- testers it was time to move off of the federal facility. He said officers then moved onto the property and cleared the part of the camp on federal property. He said officers were hold- ing the line between federal property and private property. He said officers would be there “for a while, and continue to maintain the security of this facility.” He said there were no vio- lent confrontations and that the action was “very calm.” Sperling said he didn’t know the specific charges those who were arrested face. A spokesman for Fed- a year. Democrats argued that the tax cut primarily benefited well-off professionals and they were eager to trim the break. House Democrats passed it on a simple majority despite cries from Republicans that it war- ranted a supermajority. Oregon Republican Sen. Brian Boquist, of Dallas, will be watching the measure carefully. The state senator is suing the governor and legislative leaders over another mea- In honor of July 4th, The Daily Astorian’s offices in Astoria and Seaside will be CLOSED WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 PAPER DELIVERY WILL PROCEED AS USUAL Have a safe holiday! CLASSIFIED DEADLINES: Tuesday, July 3 rd , 11 am for Wednesday, July 4 th Tuesday, July 3 rd , 1 pm for Thursday, July 5 th DISPLAY AD DEADLINES: Thursday, June 28 th , 5 pm for Wednesday, July 4 th Friday, June 29 th , 5 pm for Thursday, July 5 th Place classified ads or subscribe 24/7 www.dailyastorian.com sure he believed warranted a three-fifths vote but passed along party lines. Senate Bill 1528, which disconnected the state from federal tax changes, didn’t technically increase taxes but it did result in busi- nesses not receiving tax breaks. Researchers still can’t explain exactly what caused the massive die-off, though they think it could be linked to climate change. “These are things we’ve never seen in multiple decades of research,” Menge said. “This recovery we think we’re seeing is very help- ful, but you’re always a lit- tle worried because suddenly the system seems much more variable than it was before.” WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 ARE YOU A PEOPLE PERSON? DO YOU LOVE MUSIC? INVESTED IN LOCAL ISSUES? There’s a place for you at Coast Community Radio! • L earn what gives local radio a sense of community. • Help provide information for guests and callers at the KMUN front desk. • Stop by the Tillicum House at 14 45 Exchange Street to fill out an application. 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