A10
OREGON
East Oregonian
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Oregon rent hikes capped at 9.9% in 2022
By ZANE SPARLING
Pamplin Media Group
SALEM — Landlords
across Oregon may jack up
rents as much as 9.9% in
2022, state offi cials say.
T he Depa r t ment of
Administrative Services
approved the statewide
maximum increase, which
takes eff ect next calendar
year, under an emergency
rent control law enacted by
lawmakers three years ago.
Since then, the max rent
hike had been 10.3% in 2019,
9.9% in 2020, and 9.2% in
2021. The law doesn’t apply
to new construction — or
any rental built within the
last 15 years.
That might seem like a
steep increase to some, but
the rise is actually “rela-
tively tame,” according
to state economist Josh
Lehner, considering roller-
coaster infl ationary trends.
“I know some of you may
be scratching your heads
given infl ation is currently
running hot,” Lehner said.
Citing data released
by the Consumer Price
Index this month, Lehner
said infl ation in non-auto
and hospitality sectors is
running at about a 4% clip,
roughly double the 2%
target sought by the Federal
Reserve.
But the rent increase
formula uses a 12-month
average t hat i ncludes
low-infl ation months from
the depths of the COVID-19
outbreak.
“ T he c u r r e nt b out
of inf lation will mostly
be ref lected in the 2023
maximum allowable rent
increase,” Lehner said. “The
ultimate economic risk lies
in inflation proving more
persistent than believed,
such that the Federal
Reserve steps in and raises
interest rates to cool the
economy. Not only would
Oregon gives 24,000 state employees six more
weeks to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19
By FEDOR ZARKHIN
The Oregonian
SALEM — More than
half of Oregon’s state
employees now have an
extra six weeks to get fully
vaccinated against COVID-
19, with the deadline pushed
back to Nov. 30.
The change aff ects about
24,000 state employees
represented by the Service
Employees International
Union 503 out of about
42,000 state executive
branch employees.
It’s unclear if the changes
will apply to the remain-
ing 18,000 state employ-
ees covered by Gov.
Kate Brown’s vaccina-
tion mandate. But SEIU’s
success at pushing back
Brown’s initial Oct. 18 dead-
line for full vaccination may
bode well for other unions.
“The collective bargain-
ing process is still under
way with other bargaining
units,” Brown spokesper-
son Elizabeth Merah said in
a written response to ques-
tions Tuesday, Sept. 21.
The same Oct. 18 dead-
line set by Brown for health
care workers and teachers
remains in place, Brown’s
offi ce said.
Brown announced the
vaccine mandate among all
executive branch employ-
ees Aug. 10, the same day
Oregon set case and hospi-
talization records amid a
worsening summer surge.
At the time, SEIU made
clear its plans to bargain
over Brown’s mandate.
Union members now
have more time to complete
shots but no more leeway
in getting vaccinated than
they did before. Giving
workers some extra time
to finish the vaccination
process, along with a new
guarantee that the state will
give people extra time off if
they need it, will ultimately
serve Oregon’s end goal,
union Executive Director
Melissa Unger said.
“They’re just nervous,
or they have questions they
want answered,” Unger
said of her members. “The
state is showing that their
goal here is getting people
vaccinated.”
The new agreement
also allays some concerns
Unger said SEIU 503
members raised, including
whether they will get extra
time off if they have side-ef-
fects from the vaccine. If a
worker has already used up
their sick leave, the state
will now allow them the
time necessary to recover.
Workers now must
this slow economic growth,
but in some historical peri-
ods, it has even caused a
recession.”
Of course, not every
landlord will issue the steep-
est rent hike allowed by law,
but the rental market likely
will keep the squeeze on.
The vacancy rate for
multifamily apar t ment
buildings tightened to just
below 5% in the third quar-
ter of 2021, according to
Willamette Week. CoStar, a
Paying frontline workers
costs state $23.6 million
By HILLARY BORRUD
The Oregonian
Craig Mitchelldyer/The Associated Press, File
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announces the end of the state’s
COVID-19 restrictions in Portland on June 30, 2021. About
24,000 state employees now have until Nov. 30 to get fully
vaccinated against COVID-19.
either get their first shot
by Oct. 18 or apply for an
exception on the grounds of
a disability, medical condi-
tion or religious beliefs.
Brown’s vaccination
mandate applies only to
employees in Oregon’s
executive branch agencies
and does not include work-
ers in the court system or
legislature. Those who don’t
comply could be fi red, per
Brown’s August order.
Brown announced the
vaccination mandate this
summer at the same time
she called for indoor mask-
ing requirements.
“I am taking action to
help ensure State of Oregon
workplaces are safe for
employees and customers
alike, and I am strongly
encouraging all public and
private employers to follow
suit by requiring vaccina-
tion for their employees,”
she said of the state require-
ment.
On Sept. 20, SEIU,
rather than Brown’s offi ce,
announced that the dead-
line to be fully vaccinated
had been pushed back six
weeks.
It’s unclear how many
state workers are fully
vaccinated. Officials last
month couldn’t say and
Brown’s offi ce on Sept. 21
didn’t answer.
commercial real estate info
broker, says asking rents
across the metro area have
hit a record high — $1,508
per unit — which is about a
9% increase compared with
last year, and includes many
new buildings not subject to
the cap.
While the state has prom-
ised to bailout tenants who
stopped paying rent during
the pandemic — the vast
majority of renters still are
waiting for the check.
SALEM — Oregon will
spend $23.6 million on
hazard payments of up to
$1,550 for state employees
who were required to work
in-person during the fi rst 16
months of the COVID-19
pandemic.
State employees who
worked at least 200 hours
of overtime during that time
frame will receive an addi-
tional $575 payment, under
the deal Gov. Kate Brown
agreed to in July.
The governor signed
off on the payments during
contract bargaining with
public employee unions, after
Oregon lawmakers opted
not to pass a broad payment
program to reward more
frontline workers including
in the private sector. But the
Brown administration had
not calculated the cost of the
payments when The Orego-
nian reported on them and
other elements of the new
labor contracts in late July.
Now budget analysts have
pegged the total cost at $23.6
million, according to a fi scal
document. The money will
come from a combination
of general fund tax dollars,
lottery, federal funds and
other nonfederal sources
such as earmarked funds and
fees. Lawmakers on the Ways
and Means committee were
scheduled to hear an update
on this and other increases in
state workers’ compensation
at a Sept. 17 hearing online,
but it was canceled along
with other check-ins on the
workings of state govern-
ment after legislative leaders
learned of a COVID-19 case
during this week’s special
session.
The broader frontline
worker payment proposal
legislators considered in
the 2020 legislative session
would have cost an esti-
mated $450 million and
also contained $1,200 back-
towork incentive payments
for front-line workers who
collected unemployment
during the pandemic. Front-
line workers who stayed on
the job would have received
$2,000 in stimulus money,
The Oregonian reported.
States are allowed to
use federal A mer ican
Rescue Plan money to issue
payments to frontline work-
ers during the pandemic, and
House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, has said that
would be her top spending
priority for the remaining
federal relief funds in 2022.
Kotek announced earlier
this month she is running for
governor in 2022.
Lunch is On Us!
October 5 & 6
October is National Cooperative Month so we’re
celebrating YOU! UEC members drive thru our
limited contact event and pick up a free boxed lunch
and gift bag that includes an energy efficiency kit
with an LED lightbulb! *While supplies last
Tuesday, October 5
Wednesday, October 6
Hermiston Headquarters
Boardman Operations Center
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
At Umatilla Electric,
we’re shaped by the people we serve. As a
community-owned utility, we are driven to be more
than a business, we are an energy partner.
Learn more about how
UEC is helping to power communities at:
Hermiston Office
Boardman Office
750 W. Elm Ave.
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541) 567-6414
400 N.E. Eldrige Drive
Boardman, OR 97818
(541) 481-2220