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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2020)
LOCAL & STATE THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A Courthouse security to get upgrade By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com Baker County commis- sioners on Wednesday ap- proved a $56,000 upgrade to the security system at the Baker County Court- house. The money is from the state court system, not county tax dollars, said Bill Harvey, Commission chairman. Commissioners also designated Avigilon as the sole source provider for the equipment. The reason, said Dan McQuisten, the county’s facilities director, is that the current mainframe computer server and op- erating system are propri- etary equipment made by Avigilon, and the goal is to ensure that the upgraded equipment, including new cameras, will integrate with the current system. “It’s just acknowledg- ing the fact that we’re not going out to bid from all possible providers of that type of technology because we want to continue utiliz- ing what we already have,” McQuisten said. The actual contract is with Blue Horizon of Hills- boro, an authorized retailer of Avigilon products. Among the upgrades are replacing six exterior cameras, some of which will have a 360-degree view. Another 16 cameras will be installed inside the Courthouse, some replacing existing cameras and some in new locations. “In the past we’ve had just a system that was put in years ago and we have had some blind spots in SCHOOLS Continued from Page 1A “I personally hope — and quite frankly, pray — we are in in-person school,” Witty told the budget board during its fi rst meeting of the season via Zoom video session. Witty added that the face-to-face relationships built between students and staff are a vital element of education. Witty said Gov. Kate Brown has asked all state agencies to reduce their budgets by 8.5% per year for the biennium, which amounts to 17% for the coming year since the current fi scal year ends June 30. With Wednesday’s release of the state’s latest revenue forecast, the governor issued a statement recog- nizing that the needs of Oregonians during the coronavirus pandemic “far outstrip” state resources. “We will need to tighten our belts,” she said. “I am working with leg- islative leaders to preserve critical state services, fi nd effi ciencies, and prepare for potential budget cuts.” In a telephone interview while walking to lunch in the rain Wednesday, Witty said the revenue forecast was not as bad as he’d He also said county offi cials are working with the Baker County Fair Board to ensure the Fair, in some capacity, happens this August. “It’ll look totally differ- ent, probably, not knowing what phase two is,” Bennett said, referring to the second COVID-19 issues phase of the state’s reopen- Commissioner Mark ing plan. Bennett said county of- Baker County started fi cials have been working the fi rst phase on May 15 to ensure that personal and could potentially move protective equipment the into the second phase by county has received early June. through the federal CARES “It will look consider- Act is delivered where it’s ably different than the needed. normal Baker County “We’ve supported that Fair but it will be a fair with staff from the asses- so that the kids will have sors offi ce and delivering it something for the summer out to the rural communi- after they’ve invested all ties and sorting it and get- this work in getting their ting shipments in,” Bennett livestock and other exhibits said. ready,” Bennett said. areas,” Harvey said. “And this helps us to not only see something going on at the moment but it also records it for when we pos- sibly need it for evidence in a case if somebody does something wrong, we have it recorded.” expected based on earlier conversa- tions. As a result, he doesn’t think agencies will be forced to make the full 17% in cuts. He said school districts expect to be notifi ed by the state Department of Education in early June about the strategy for reopening schools. Summer school guidelines already have been received and Baker’s Summer Academy program should serve as a good practice for reopening in the fall. Witty said he hopes the governor will allow schools to reopen in a way that best suits the coronavirus situ- ation in their own communities. Just as counties have been al- lowed to begin to reopen based on the number of COVID-19 cases and their ability to respond to them, he hopes the same will be true of the schools. “The groups I work with certainly would like to see it more localized if we have fewer cases,” he said. As of Wednesday, Baker County has had one confi rmed case. Although the District will be prepared for in-person school at the highest level in the fall, it also will be preparing for distance learning and everything in between, Witty said. He told the budget board mem- bers Tuesday night that he expects education to fare well when the Leg- islature meets to consider cuts be- cause of the strong lobbying efforts through the Oregon School Boards Association, the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, the Oregon Education Association and parenting organizations. With that hope moving forward, Witty said the District has built its proposed 2020-21 budget based on the $9 billion landmark state school funding measure approved by the Legislature for the 2019-2021 bien- nium, “with obvious ways to step down.” Witty’s optimism is fueled by several factors, he told the budget board members. First, the Baker School District’s fi nancial position is better than many school districts because of the entrepreneurial projects it has undertaken over the past decade, including development of the Baker Charter Schools, Baker Technical Institute and aggressively seeking grants and outside contracts. State expecting $3 billion shortfall By Peter Wong Oregon Capital Bureau Gov. Kate Brown says federal aid must go hand in hand with spending cuts to offset almost $3 billion that state tax collections and other sources will be short. Brown made her statement Wednesday after state econo- mists told lawmakers that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandem- ic has resulted in an unprece- dented economic downturn from shutdowns in business activity and public life. Oregon’s unemployment rate jumped from a modern low of 3.5% in March to a modern high of 14.2% in April. Oregon’s state general fund budget draws more than 90% of its money from personal and corporate income taxes. The combined general fund and lottery budget for the “In effect, the decision the board made a decade ago to alleviate any recession is coming to fruition,” Witty said. He acknowledged, however, that the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are greater than any seen before in state his- tory. The increased funding for educa- tion and early learning is “most likely to be nullifed by the CO- VID-19 recession” Witty’s written budget message stated. However, the superintendent pointed to the Education Stability Fund and the Rainy Day Fund, which, he said, are both in better fi nancial condi- tion than ever before to help backfi ll funding losses. Cost-saving measures already implemented by the District include a spending freeze, furloughing employees through the Employment Department’s Work Share program, increasing Medicaid billing and a hiring slowdown. Witty said the deputy superinten- dent of public instruction stated in a recent meeting that the accom- modations schools are making to cope with the coronavirus might be 2019-21 cycle is about $23.7 billion, and virtually all of the potential spending cuts of $2.7 billion will fall within the second year starting July 1. “The steepness of this decline is unprecedented,” State Economist Mark McMullen said during a video conference of the House and Senate revenue committees. While he and Senior Econo- mist Josh Lehner said they expected a quick economic recovery when business activ- ity resumes — as early as the second half of 2020, and an “all clear” by mid-2021 — “it takes a full year or more before pain is realized.” They also projected that state coffers will get less than origi- nally forecast in the following two budget cycles. in place for two years, continuing through the 2021-22 school year. The Baker School District’s proposed 2020-21 budget totals $68,073,037. That includes: • General Fund — $53,446,121 • Special Funds — $8,823,503 • PERS Debt Fund — $1,662,865 • Capital Project Fund — $3,185,000 • Enterprise Fund — $870,033 • Trust and Agency Funds — $868,514 More information and a copy of the complete budget proposal is available online at www.5j.org or by calling the District Offi ce at 541- 524-2260. The budget committee includes the fi ve School Board members — Chris Hawkins, chair; Katie Lamb, vice chair; Kevin Cassidy, Julie Huntington and Andrew Bryan. The committee’s other members are community representatives Linda Cyr, who was elected budget committee chair Tuesday; Wes Price, who was elected vice chair; and members Rosemary Abell, Josey Gaslin and Mike Rudi. The group’s next Zoom video ses- sion will be at 5 p.m. May 26. TREASURE VALLEY STEEL, INC. Manufacturing Zee & Cee Purlins In-HouseCustom Cut Exact Lengths • 24 Colors • Custom Trim • 2 1/2” Corrugated • Delivery Available • Full Soffitt Line • 3 ft. 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