REGION
Thursday, June 3, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Umatilla County adopts budget
$2M going toward
project to pipe
Columbia River
water for ag, more
But I think on a whole lot
of fronts, people have been
surprised. The economy has
not died. People paid their
property taxes. There’s been
a lot of pleasant surprises.”
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
County budget,
stimulus funds
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners adopted
the county’s budget for
the 2021-22 fi scal year at a
Wednesday, June 2, meet-
ing.
The board unanimously
approved the budget of
nearly $123.7 million, with
more than $117 million
appropriated. That’s $21
million more than last
year’s budget, a signifi cant
increase, with two drivers
— the federal American
Rescue Plan Act and grow-
ing property taxes, accord-
ing to county offi cials.
General funds amounted
to nearly $36.5 million,
nearly $2 million more than
last year, a modest increase,
county Chief Financial Offi -
cer Robert Pahl said.
“We’re not fl ushed, but
we’re pleased with the fact
that we have a balanced
budget and we’re not having
to make cuts,” Umatilla
Cou nt y Com m issioner
George Murdock said.
Murdock added he was
surprised the county has
not had to make cuts in this
year’s budget.
“If you’d asked me a year
ago, in March, I had no idea
what the impact would be”
from the pandemic, he said.
“It looked pretty bleak.
Umatilla County Public
Health saw its total allo-
cated funds increase from
$5 million to about $5.8
million. The increase comes
from state funding for staff -
ing and supplies, including
personal protective equip-
ment and tents for vaccine
clinics, according to county
offi cials.
Murdock said he wants
it to be clear “there is no
money in the regular county
budget tied to hiring more
personnel” or buying extra
equipment because it’s
one-time funding.
“This money makes
the budget higher because
we have to account for the
money in the budget, but
it’s not money being used to
hire more people,” he said.
The sheriff ’s offi ce also
saw its funds increase, from
$16 million last year to $17.4
million. Most of that fund-
ing comes from the state’s
911 funds and allows the
sheriff ’s offi ce to add staff
to dispatch and the county
jail, offi cials say.
In addition, the county
will hire a county planner
after abandoning the idea
last year because of fi nan-
cial uncertainty from the
pandemic. There also are
provisions in the budget to
proactively maintain heat-
ing, venting and air condi-
tioning systems, boilers and
windows in buildings.
The commissioners also
approved the first half of
federal stimulus funding
in the June 2 meeting, with
$2 million going toward a
pipeline project in the west
part of the county to deliver
water from the Columbia
River to support agriculture,
preserve critical groundwa-
ter areas, recharge the aqui-
fer and create jobs, Murdock
said.
A nother $2 million
in federal stimulus will
go toward the county’s
public works department,
which saw revenue fall
during the pandemic due
to reduced travel, all while
still responding to damage
from the 2021 fl ooding of
the Umatilla River.
T he com m issione r s
approved $650,000 in joint
investments with local
communities to support
ongoing partnerships and
help restore economies
in areas that have limited
resources. Murdock added,
“In some cases, one or more
of these communities will
not receive any (federal
funds) such as we do.”
The budget’s intent
Murdock previously has
noted three specific areas
the commissioners wanted
to address in this year’s
budget: mental health, equity
and fl ooding. Now that focus
has shifted more specifi cally
to mental health and equity,
with contingency funds in
the budget to set aside to
address these issues.
Those funds include
$200,000 set aside for the
possibility of a new program
called CAHOOTS — Crisis
Assistance Helping Out On
The Streets — where medics
and mental health profes-
sionals assist or replace law
enforcement in response
to calls involving mental
illness, homelessness and
addiction.
Murdock said it’s unclear
exactly when or how the
program will come to frui-
tion in the county, but the
county has set aside funds in
the budget “to signifi cantly
modify how we address
mental health and other
programs within the commu-
nity.”
Mu rdock said what
happens in the 2021 legis-
lative session also will
determine how the county
continues to address equity
issues, such as the pandem-
ic’s disproportionate impact
on Hispanic residents.
“There are pieces of the
puzzle that have to come
together before we can frame
the fi nal plan,” Murdock said.
In other action, the board
approved the purchase of
several items. They include
a nearly $72,500 water
truck, a $15,000 asphalt
paving machine, a water
truck for the Meacham Fire
Department, and approx-
imately $7,300 worth of
body armor for the Umatilla
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce. In
addition, the commissioners
approved a request from the
health department to hire
an environmental health
specialist and to begin a
new COVID-19 vaccine
incentive program.
Pendleton City Council approves $105M budget
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton City Council
unanimously voted to adopt a
$105.1 million annual budget
at a Tuesday, June 1, meeting,
representing a slight increase
from the year before.
The $20.3 million general
fund — the only pot of
money city staff or the coun-
cil has discretion over—
also will grow when the new
fi scal year starts in July, but
most of that growth can be
attributed to $3.4 million
Pendleton expects to receive
in federal COVID-19 relief.
The city is assigning a
significant chunk of that
money to facilities in need of
maintenance, meaning the
Vert Auditorium, McCune
Recreation Center and the
Pendleton River Parkway
all are receiving repairs and
upgrades.
The budget also directs
$400,000 to Pendleton
Comes Alive, a collaboration
between the city and Pendle-
ton’s tourism interests. The
project looks to boost tour-
ism by accentuating Pend-
leton’s Western themes
through new bars, tours and
other attractions.
The council also met
as the Pendleton Develop-
ment Commission briefl y to
approve a $1.2 million bid
from Nelson Construction
Corp. of Walla Walla to do
street reconstruction projects
in the urban renewal district,
which encompasses down-
town Pendleton and some of
the surrounding area.
According to a staff report,
the city initially budgeted $2
million for the projects, but
staff decided to defer on some
of them while they addressed
underground utility repairs.
Nelson’s bid is slightly higher
than the city’s $1.2 million
estimate, but it still repre-
sented the lowest bid.
The contractor will be
paid to reconstruct several
roads, all considered below
“fair” condition, and also
will widen streets at South-
east and Southwest Seventh
streets. The city is budgeting
$6.2 million for street repair
projects in the urban renewal
district over the next three
years.
• The council also unan-
imously approved a $21,975
agreement with energy
company Ameresco to
perform an audit of the
city’s streetlight system with
the plan of replacing the
high-pressure sodium lights
with LEDs.
The potential replacement
project could save the city
$80,000 in electrical costs,
and once the audit is complete,
the city expects to return to
the council with a request to
start the switch-outs.
• Another bid the coun-
cil approved was a $342,699
off er from Hancock Sandblast
and Paint of Pasco to repaint
the water filtration plant’s
tanks as the city installs
new filtration membranes.
The tanks require a special
paint that can protect the
membranes while withstand-
ing the regular acid cleanings
the tanks undergo.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
People wander a sun-spotted Main Street in downtown
Pendleton on the opening day of the Pendleton Farm-
ers Market on Friday, May 7, 2021. The month of May saw
slightly warmer temperatures with an average high of
72.6 degrees, 2.7 degrees above normal.
Pendleton sees above-
average temps in May
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton area experienced
slightly warmer tempera-
tures during the month of
May, according to data
from the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration’s National Weather
Service Offi ce in Pendleton.
The average temperature
during the month was 58.2
degrees, 0.5 degrees above
normal. High temperatures
averaged 72.6 degrees,
2.7 degrees above normal,
according to the monthly
climate summary.
The highest temperature
was 88 degrees recorded on
May 31.
Low temperatures aver-
aged 43.8 degrees, 1.8
degrees below normal.
The lowest temperature for
the month was 38 degrees,
recorded on May 10.
Precipitation for the
month totaled 0.47 inches,
which was 0.88 inches
below normal, the report
said. Measurable precipita-
tion — at least 0.01 inch —
was received on fi ve days,
with the heaviest, 0.25
inches, reported on May 1.
Precipitation for the year
is 4.02 inches, which is 2.39
inches below normal. Since
October 2020, the water
year precipitation at the
Pendleton airport has been
8.47 inches, 1.94 inches
below normal.
The highest wind gust
was 56 mph on May 23,
and just one day during
the month when the wind
exceeded 50 mph.
The outlook for April
from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
above normal temperatures
and below normal precipi-
tation. Normal highs for
the Pendleton airport rise
from 74 degrees at the start
of June to 83 degrees at the
end of the month. Normal
lows rise from 49 degrees
to 54 degrees. The 30-year
normal precipitation is just
under 1 inch.
NORMAL
6/4-6/10
Cineplex Show Times
Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
Every showing $7.50 per person (ages 0-3 still free)
Spirit Untamed (PG)
1:40p 4:40p 7:40p
The Conjuring:
The Devil Made
Me Do It (R)
1:20p 4:20p 7:20p
A Quiet Place Part II
(PG-13)
2:00p 5:00p 8:00p
Cruella (PG-13)
1:00p 4:00p 7:00p
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Umatilla County Historical
Society Presents:
17 TH ANNUAL
OLD IRON SHOW
June 4th-6th
in Roy Raley Park
Admission is FREE and open to the public
www.heritagestationmuseum.org
THE CHOICE IS YOURS