Page A6
January 5,2000
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Who monitors local government?
The
T ax
S u p e r v is in g
and
C onservation C om m ission protects
and represents the public interest by
e n s u rin g M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty
g o v ern m e n ts co m p ly w ith local
budget law by:
-C om m unicating local governm ent
fin a n c ia l in fo rm a tio n tn c le a r,
objective, unbiased m anner
- Providing local governm ent sta ff
with technical advice and assistance
- P ro m o tin g th e e ffic ie n c y and
effectiveness o f local governm ents
Purpose and Authority
The
T ax
S u p e r v is in g
an d
C o n serv atio n C o m m issio n is an
independent, impartial panel ofcitizen
volunteers established to m onitor the
f in a n c ia l a f f a ir s o f th e lo c a l
governments. Oregon Revised Statue
294.610 created the Com m ission in
1919. Prior to that tim e, the Oregon
L e g is la tu r e c o n tr o lle d
lo c a l
governm ent budgets.
TheCom m ission, required in counties
with over 500,000 population, has
jurisdiction over all local governments
that are required to follow local budget
law and w hich have m ore than h alfo f
th e ir
a s s e s s e d v a lu e w ith in
M u ltn o m a h
C o u n ty .
The
C om m ission presently oversees the
budgeting and taxing activities o f
thirty-six m unicipal corporations,
including O reg o n ’s largest: city
(Portland), county (M ultnom ah), port
(P o rtla n d ), m ass tra n sit d istric t
( T riM e t), re g io n a l g o v e rn m e n t
(M etro), and urban renew al agency
( P o r tla n d
D e v e lo p m e n t
Com m ission). In total, these entities
em ploy nearly 28,000 individuals and
budget
annual
e x p e n d itu r e s
exceeding $6.3 billion.
Five C om m issioners, appointed by
the G overnor to four-year terms, direct
th e c o m m is s io n a f f a ir s .
The
C o m m is s io n e r s s e r v e w ith o u t
c o m p e n s a tio n .
A d m in is tra tiv e
em ployees, currently four staff, are
appointed by the C om m ission. The
A ttorney G eneral serves as the legal
counsel. Operating expense is limited
by statute to $280,000 annually and is
a llo c a te d on c o u n ty w id e b a s is
th ro u g h the M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty
perm anent rate authority.
The Com m ission annually serves the
taxpayers by providing an extensive
review o fth e budgets o f the thirty-six
lo c a l g o v e r n m e n ts w ith in its
jurisdiction. The review s are both
procedural and substantive in nature.
P ro c e d u ra l c h e c k s e s ta b lis h
c o m p lia n c e w ith v a r io u s la w s
governing local finance, particularly
local budget law . T hey include such
steps as verifying that the approved
tax levies are within the constitutional
lim its and substantiated by budgets,
e n s u rin g th a t p u b lic n o tic e
requirem ents have been m et, and
validating that financial inform ation
is included in adequate detail. A
s u b s ta n tiv e re v ie w o f p ro g ra m
c o n te n t, th e r e a s o n a b le n e s s o f
e s tim a te s an d c o o r d in a tio n o f
financial planning am ong various
units is also perform ed. All budgets
m ust be certified by the C om m ission
p rio r to a d o p tio n b y th e lo c al
g o v ern in g body. T h ese ty p es o f
review and the certification process
d is tin g u is h T S C C fro m o th e r
re g u la to ry b o d ie s , su ch as th e
D epartm ent o f R evenue or County
A ssessor’s Office, w ho do not receive
copies o f the budget docum ents.
T h e C o m m is s io n p r o v id e s an
independent and objective forum, by
w ay o f public hearings, at w hich
citizens may attain inform ation and
express their view s regarding the
b u d g et. C o m m issio n m em b ers
represent the public at these hearings
by asking questions indicative o fth e
com m unity at large. These annual
public hearings are m andatory for the
nine largest county entities and may
be requested by the other taxing
districts. The C om m ission holds
additional public hearings throughout
the year on supplem ental budgets o f
the districts and on every new local
option property tax and bond levy
request placed before the voters. The
C om m issio n m ay also call jo in t
m eetings o f the levying bodies to
discuss tax coordination or any other
area o f com m on interest.
T h e C o m m is s io n p u b lis h e s a
com prehensive A nnual Report o f all
M u ltn o m a h
C o u n ty
lo c a l
governm ent budgets, indebtedness,
property taxes and other financial
inform ation along with a T axpayer’s
Guide sum m ary ofthe information. A
O ne Page Report pam phlet listing
local governm ent tax rates, assessed
valuation, property taxes and annual
budget and indebtedness totals is
published each fall. A periodic TSCC
R eview N e w sle tte r h ig h lig h tin g
various local governm ent financial
activities and trends o f interest is
also p ro v id ed . C o p ies o f th ese
p u b lic a tio n s , lo c a l g o v e rn m e n t
budgets and independent audits are
available for review by the public at
the C om m ission’s office.
drug deal ing renter an eviction notice
because illegal drug sales activity
generally violates lease or rental
agreem ents. In other cases, the N RT
o f f ic e r s h a v e o p e n e d C h ro n ic
N uisance Property O rdinance files
and sent letters to the property ow ner
alerting them to the activity and the
p o te n tia l
consequences
an d
remedies. Along w ith monitoring the
problem houses and m otor vehicle
traffic, bicycle and foot traffic was
also observed. As a result, the meth
users, addicts and sellers lost both
the safety o f the drug houses and
their free m obility to m ove around
East Precinct.
Raw arrest num bers are generally a
poor w ay to ju d g e the results o f most
law enforcem ent m issions. However,
it is one relatively easy m easure to
obtain and indicates that the officers
were actively engaged in law violation
su p p re ssio n a c tiv itie s. T he true
measure o fth e success o f this mission
and the previous five drug house
missions wi 11 be the reduction o f crime
in East Precinct and closure o f drug
houses.
Drug houses: W hat you can do
•
Call the Portland Police Drugs
and Vice Division at 823-DRUG
and report activity. Call your NRT
officers in your precinct or call
y o u r N e ig h b o r h o o d C rim e
Prevention staff. T o find out
w hich N eighborhood Coalition
you live in, call 823-4519.
•
E ncourage neighbors to report
all a c tiv ity and to keep an
incident log o f suspected illegal
activity, including; address o f
drug house; dates and tim es o f
activity; description o f activity;
if know n, give nam es o f dealers
or occupants o f house and car
licenses o f occupants or frequent
visitors.
•
S et u p o r g e t in v o lv e d in
N eighborhood W atch and your
neighborhood association.
•
M any drug houses have been
B itty K e e p ’?
R e s t a u r a n t t B ar
A t the . standard D airy
closed because o f building code
v io la tio n s . R e p o rt p o s s ib le
violations, including garbage, to
th e B u re a u o f B u ild in g s
N e ig h b o r h o o d
N u is a n c e
Division at 823-7306. To report
abandoned autos, call 823-7309.
If the d ru g h o u se is ren ted
property, get in touch w ith the
landlord. Y ou can usually find
the lan d lo rd 's nam e and address
by calling the Multnomah County
Property Tax A ssessm ent Office
at 248-3326.
!
J
2808 NE MLK Jr. Blvd.
Portland. OR 97212
(503) 4 9 3 -8 1 2 7
G rand O pening !
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Wednesday, January 12th. 2000
5 to 8:0 0 p.m.
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T h e V is io n T o L e a d .
S a l u t e M a r t in L u t h e r K in g J r .
In our midst are those with vision. The vision to lead. The vision
Fora full list of the job opportunities available, visit our website at
to succeed. Kaiser Permanente salutes one such visionary, Martin
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Luther King, Jr. - and we share his understanding o f how diversity
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the people we serve.
KAISER PERMANENTE
Northwest
• The health caring people
An eviction is one w ay to get rid
o f drug houses.
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