REGION
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
BRIEFLY
Shearer’s Foods investment
will come onto tax rolls this year
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
No enterprise zone construc-
tion came onto the tax rolls in
2016, but a modest investment
by Shearer’s Foods will come
on in July.
Hermiston’s enterprise zone,
one of several around the state,
gives qualifying companies a
three- to five-year property tax
exemption on new investments
that add jobs to the community.
Shearer’s Foods used the
break on a $3.1 million invest-
ment in 2010, a $25 million
investment in 2011 and a $3.5
million investment in 2014.
The company will start paying
property taxes on the final $3.5
million investment on July 1.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said that since
the property is located outside
city limits, the taxes will go
to Umatilla County, Umatilla
County Fire District 1 and
Hermiston School District but
not the city.
However, $16,482,000 in
expansions by DuPont Pioneer
and Pioneer Hi-Bred will come
on the city’s tax rolls in 2019.
Morgan said it’s hard to
know exactly how much money
comes into the city’s general
fund as a result of new projects
joining the tax rolls, because
the city receives property tax
EO file photo
A worker at the Shearer’s Foods processing plant outside
Hermiston inspects potato chips before they are packaged
for distribution.
revenue in one lump sum
and that sum fluctuates up
and down as some properties
become more valuable and
others depreciate. However, he
estimated that the city is getting
somewhere between $150,000
and $200,000 per year from
DuPont Pioneer’s $35 million
investment that came on the tax
rolls in 2015.
Companies that qualify for
the enterprise zone include
shippers, manufacturers and
processors but exclude retail,
construction businesses or
finance. To qualify for a three-
year property tax break on
new capital investments, the
construction or new equipment
must come with at least a 10
percent increase of full-time,
permanent jobs that lasts for the
duration of the tax break. The
city can choose to extend the
tax break for another one or two
years if the compensation of the
new workers is at or above 150
percent of Umatilla County’s
average wage.
Morgan said that some
people grumble about the city
giving tax breaks, but he “can
say with absolute certainty that
a lot of these investments would
not have come here if property
tax exemptions were not on the
table from the start.”
He said about a year and
a half ago Hermiston was the
second place finalist for an Auto
Zone distribution center that
would have brought about 250
new jobs to the area. He said
the enterprise zone featured
“prominently” into discussions
with the company.
“They ended up in Pasco,
but without the enterprise zone
we wouldn’t have even been at
the table for that discussion,” he
said.
He said there are no new
enterprise zone applications
in hand but that people should
“stay tuned.”
Between 2005 and 2015 the
enterprise zone was responsible
for attracting more than $83
million in investments and more
than 300 new jobs, according to
a city report.
Pendleton schools could face ‘substantial cuts’
Hermiston approves
budget parameters
for 2017-18 year
East Oregonian
Like the Oregon Legisla-
ture, the Pendleton School
Board’s budget discussions
won’t come easy this spring.
Speaking to the board via
teleconference, director of
business services Michelle
Jones said the Pendleton
School District would have
to make “substantial cuts” to
deliver a balanced budget by
May.
Superintendent
Andy
Kovach dispatched district
officials to deliver the news
to teachers Monday morning
while Jones gave her own
report at a board meeting
Monday evening.
Jones said the district
received a revenue forecast
from the Oregon Department
of Education March 3, and it
painted “a grave picture for
the district.”
Due to the district’s
declining enrollment, Jones
said the district is set to
receive $115,000 less than it
did the previous biennium.
Enrollment is important to
the district because the state
determines local funding
through a metric called
average daily membership,
which takes raw enrollment
into account.
Compared to Pendleton’s
peak enrollment of 3,721 in
1999, it dipped below 3,000
students last year according to
the state.
The district’s most recent
internal head count tallied
3,093 students, down from the
3,173 at the beginning of the
year.
Jones said decreasing
enrollment combined with
the state mandate for all-day
kindergarten made for a “bad
combination for the Pendleton
School District.”
Jones also pointed to other
rising costs like the Public
Employee Retirement System,
insurance and cost of living
increases.
The state’s budget situation
doesn’t make it any clearer.
The state is currently facing
a $1.6 billion budget gap for
the 2017-2019 biennium. A
recent proposed budget from
the co-chairs of the Ways and
Means Committee penciled in
$7.8 billion for K-12 educa-
tion, 3 percent less than the
current funding level.
Jones said the district is
still determining what effects
Measure 98 will have on the
district. The ballot measure
passed in November allocates
part of the state’s education
budget to career technical
education programs.
Jones recommended the
school board hold a meeting
in the near future to determine
the district’s budget priorities.
In Hermiston, the board
approved its budget param-
eters Monday night for
the upcoming school year,
including the governor’s
proposed budget of $8.01
billion for the 2017-2018
school year. It also approved
a PERS reserve balance of
$500,000, which can be acces-
sible to maintain 2016-2017
service levels.
The district is planning
for an ending fund balance of
$6.14 million.
The forecast expenditure
for the next school year is
$54.8 million, and the forecast
revenue is about $55.4 million.
Last year, the Hermiston
School District planned their
budget based on a state school
fund of $7.37 billion.
Irrigators butt heads with cities over water bills
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM
—
Irrigation
districts are butting heads with
city governments in Oregon
over proposed legislation that’s
intended to avert conflicts over
housing development and storm-
water discharge.
Supporters of Senate bills 865
and 866 say the two bills will
help prevent urban encroach-
ment from damaging irrigation
facilities and water supplies.
“We need this tool so we
can avoid fights,” said Marc
Thalacker, manager of the Three
Sisters Irrigation District, during
a March 9 legislative hearing.
Cities and counties would
have to provide notice about
impending property subdivisions
to irrigation districts, drainage
districts and similar entities
under SB 865.
Districts
shouldn’t
be
surprised by new developments,
said Brent Stevenson, manager
of the Santiam Water Control
District.
“It will only save money
in the long run for others,”
Stevenson said of SB 865.
When farmland is converted
to urban uses, unintended conse-
quences to irrigation systems can
arise, said April Snell, executive
director of the Oregon Water
Resources Congress.
Cities and counties can ward
off such problems by getting
input from irrigation districts
before approving a plat, or map
of the new parcels, she said.
“It’s really for the ability of
districts to provide the informa-
tion,” Snell said.
Irrigation
districts
can
encounter serious financial
impacts from urban encroach-
ment, while disruptions to water
infrastructure can also hurt urban
residents, said Mark Landauer,
lobbyist for the Special Districts
Association of Oregon.
“People tend not to be very
happy when their basements get
flooded or things of that nature,”
he said.
Under SB 866, cities would
have to take reasonable steps to
ensure stormwater discharged
into irrigation canals meets
federal and state water quality
standards.
Cities would also be held
liable for discharging stormwater
into canals unless they receive
permission from an irrigation
district or implement plans to
avoid affecting the district.
Proponents of SB 866 say
that irrigation districts may not
have the facilities to handle
additional water from municipal
runoff, potentially breaching
canals and causing flooding.
Farmers are also under
increasing scrutiny regarding
food safety and environmental
impacts, so they can face liabil-
ities from pollutants found in
stormwater, supporters say.
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Police arrest Milton-Freewater
man for rape of ex-girlfriend
MILTON-FREEWATER — Richard Frank
Duran, 26, of Milton-Freewater, faces charges of
coercion and first-degree rape.
Milton-Freewater police in a written statement
alleged Duran committed the crimes Feb. 26,
against his former girlfriend. Police investigated
the case, according to the statement, which led to
a Umatilla County grand jury
indictment against Duran last
Thursday, and a subsequent
warrant.
Officers arrested Duran
without incident Monday
evening, police reported, and
booked him into the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton,
where he remains in lieu of
$300,000 bail.
Duran
First-degree rape in
Oregon carries a mandatory
prison sentence of eight years, four months.
Circuit court records show the district
attorney’s office also is prosecuting Duran for
first-degree trespass stemming from an incident
on Feb. 14. The victim in that case was the same
ex-girlfriend.
Duran signed a release agreement allowing
him to remain free during that court case as long
as he had no contact with the victim except for
court-ordered parenting time.
13-year-old boy hit by car in
crosswalk, driver cited
HERMISTON — A 13-year-old boy sustained
minor injuries but declined medical treatment
after he was hit by a vehicle driving west at the
intersection outside Hermiston High School at
4:18 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
The boy, a Hermiston resident, was crossing
north on West Highland Avenue at the crosswalk,
when he was struck by a vehicle driven by
Rebecca Kruse, also of Hermiston, who was
driving west on West Highland.
Kruse was issued a citation for careless driving.
Schools honor classified staff at
school board meeting
HERMISTON — The Hermiston School
District last night honored several people who
make the schools run — even though they
sometimes go unrecognized. The school board
handed out awards to its Classified Employees of
the year from all eight schools, as well as at the
district level.
The award winners are as follows:
• Hermiston High School: Lindy Thompson,
athletics and activities secretary; Joyce Wright,
campus monitor
• Armand Larive: Delia Lopez, custodian
• Sandstone: Shou Yun Foun, special education
assistant
• Desert View: Serena Barker, special education
assistant
• Highland Hills: Sharla McDonald, special
education assistant
• Rocky Heights: Nicole Malmberg, special
education assistant
• Sunset: Jennifer Morrell, special education
assistant
• West Park: Gaby Chora, special education
assistant
• District office: Nancy Coria, home liaison.
The classified staff members were honored
at this week’s school board meeting, with
commendations from each school’s principal, the
school board and superintendent Fred Maiocco.
“Our support staff are second to none,”
Maiocco said. The honors come on the heels of
Classified Employee Appreciation Week, which
was March 6 to 10.
Hermiston High School hosts
college information night
HERMISTON — Hermiston High School
will host its College Night Oregon event this
Wednesday, March 15 at 5:30. Students and
parents can learn more about choosing a college,
navigating financial aid and scholarships.
Pizza will be provided at the event, and
students can enter a drawing to win one of three
$500 scholarships, which will be announced at the
end of the night.
The event is open to all students and families,
and is at Hermiston High School, 600 S. First St.,
Hermiston.
———
Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports,
and press releases. Email press releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
S T U D EN T
O F TH E
W EEK
A u stin Tate
Nixyaawii Community School
The staff at Nixyaawii Community
School is pleased to announce their
Student of the Week, Austin Tate.
Austin, a junior, joined us this winter
and has fit in well with both staff and
students. He is a pleasure to have in
class and adds great perspective to
class discussions. He is extremely
respectful to everyone and is
currently maintaining an “A” in all
his classes.
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