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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1982)
GÖ6171 OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY Í2 3 0 SW PARK AVE PORTLAND/ OR 972Ö5 WARM SPRINGS, OREGON 97761 VOL. 7 NO. 6 T .S .- Postage Bulk Rate Permit No. 2 W arm Springs, O R MARCH 26,1982 Round Butte rent set SIGNS OF WINTER’S END Pussywillows catch the rays o f a spring sun along the Shitike Creek. Spifyay Tymoo photo by Leno (They have to be paid back) The Tribal Council issued a |$16 a month for residential notice March 16 to inform risers, noted tribal attorney tr ib a l m em b ers th a t a Dennis Kamopp. “The decision of the board settlement has been reached in th e R o u n d B u t te r e n t rep resen ts a co m p ro m ise between PGE and the Tribes,” arbitrations. A three-m an board o f said Karnopp, referring to the arbitrators established a rent of adjusted rental payment. The arbitrators were Charles $4.7 million per year to be paid by Portland General Electric to Davis, former Oregon Public the Tribes for use of tribal land Utility Commissioner, selected by PGE; Abe Weissbrodt, a on which the dam is built. The Tribes are currently c l a im s a t t o r n e y fr o m receiving just over $1 million a Washington, D.C., selected by the Tribes; and E. Kendall year in rent from PGE. In accordance with the Davis, a power expert from original agreement, the board Sacramento and former lawyer specified that the new rent hike for the U .S . Bureau o f is to be retroactive to 1979, plus Reclamation, mutually agreed interest, to cover the five-year upon by both parties in the dispute. period to 1984. Hearings were held before Rent has been renegotiated every five years since 1974. The the Board of Arbitrators in rental amounts are computed Portland Dec. 2-8, 1981. by a c o m p le x fo r m u la Attorneys representing the customarily used in power C onfederated Tribes were Dennis C. Karnopp and James purchase agreements. It is estimated that the D. Noteboom of Johnson, impact o f the new rental figure Marceau, Karnopp & Peterson set by the board will mean an in Bend. Representing PGE increase of only 20 cents a were Alvin Alexandersen and m o n th to th e a v e r a g e Ron Johnson. It is anticipated that a joint residential user. press release will be issued by In c o m p a r i s o n , t h e ¡‘‘mothballing*’ of area nuclear the Tribes and PGE sometime J plants is costing an average of next week. Error caught in rent relief refunds by Sandy Rangila Those who received a rent relief check from the state Department of Revenue last October (or the Oct. before) can soon expect a billing for a return of that money, plus interest, if they live on federal property. Some reservation residents mistakenly filed for refunds they weren’t entitled to under the Homeowners and Renter Relief Program (HARRP). “I think that those who filed just figured they qualified because they rent and because their income was under the specified limit,” said Carol Wisner, public information officer for the state D epartm ent of Revenue. She explained that only those residing on taxable property and who meet the eligibility standards qualify for a HARRP refund. There will be no prosecution for fraud in this case because “we think this was purely a case of misunderstanding. There doesn’t appear to be any fraudulent intent. They just didn’t read far enough in the instructions,” said Wisner. For that reason no penalty charge will be added to the bill. Under Oregon law, only property that is assessed for property taxes is eligible for tax relief. And most property on the reservation doesn’t qualify, she stressed. The dollar amounts each individual household will have to pay back vary according to their income and rental amount back in ‘79 and ‘80. But Wisner said the average check was $230 per year and the interest charge will be one percent a month. Interest will be computed back to when the check was received, she said. Some people received a refund in Oct. 1980, some in Oct. 1981, and some got refunds both years. Wisner said that the revenue department’s computer will be isolating ZIP codes and other identifying information about r e s e r v a tio n p r o p e r ty to determine which qualifies for tax relief and which doesn’t. The problem is how to separate the small amount o f reservation property which is on fee patent land (and taxable) because the ZIP code is the same throughout the reserva tion. HARRP refunds issued the past two Octobers, for 1979 and 1980 applications, are being matched against the master list from the computer. Wisner predicted that people will begin receiving billing letters tins summer. For some it will be a billing letter and for others it will be a contact regarding property status — whether or not it is on fee Ipatent land. She said that normally payment would be expected within 30 days. “In the case of a real hardship, an individual can make payment arrangements th ro u g h ou r c o lle c tio n division,” said Wisner. The computer has “kicked o u t ” a p p lic a t io n s fro m ineligible properties for 1981 refunds, so they won’t be issued at all. HARRP refunds made for the years before 1979 will not be reviewed because o f the cost involved and because there is a statute o f limitations (unless fraud is suspected). Wisner said the state first learned about the error after a Warm Springs resident, who had just received a refund check, called the revenue departm ent. “ The person wasn’t sure he was eligible— and he wasn’t.” A t th a t p o in t , th e Department of revenue started checking into other refunds that had gone to Warm Springs residents, as well as those which had been issued to people on the Umatilla Reservation. Brunoe to visit Japan K a h -N e e -T a g e n e r a l manager Garland Brunoe will be visiting Tokoyo, Japan next .month to attend the Pacific Northwest Tourism Mission which will be presented in cooperation with Thai Airlines. Brunoe will join state travel d ir e c t o r s an d e x e c u t iv e convention directors from W ashington, O regon and Idaho. Also attending will be representatives from Princess T o u rs, T h u n d e r b ir d /R e d Lion, Port o f Seattle, Port of Portland, Azumano Travel Agency, Hilton Hotels and Sun Valley, Idaho. Kah-Nee-Ta was the only resort that req u ested to a tten d the seminar. Kah-Nee-Ta sales director Liz A pple heard o f the conference and recommended to the Kah-Nee-Ta Board of Directors that Brunoe attend the five day seminar. In addition to the seminar, all the representatives will be v is it in g m a jo r J a p a n e s e wholesalers, hoping to bring more Japanese tourism trade to the states. (Wholesalers are similar to American travel agencies.) The seminar will include a Continued on page 12
