Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current, January 28, 2021, Image 9

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Baker City herald., January 28, 2021, Page 9, Image 9

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Newspaper Page TextBUSINESS & AG LIFE THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A DEQ issues three ﬁ nes for asbestos removal in La Grande The Observer LA GRANDE — The demolition of a building in May 2019 at the La Grande/Union County Airport resulted in three ﬁ nes in December 2020 for mishandling asbestos removal, including one penalty against Union County. The Oregon Depart- ment of Environmental Quality issued penalties of $7,200 each against Union County and Wellens Gen- eral Contractors Inc. of Enterprise and a penalty of $11,200 against Dustin VACCINES Continued from Page 1B Brown said her goal is “to get our kids back in the classroom this school year,” but she received mixed responses for putting teachers ﬁ rst. Some education groups say the move is crucial to help the state’s students. Others, including leaders of the Portland Associa- tion of Teachers and Oregon State University, have expressed concern, saying schools won’t be safe until communities are safe. If schools open, they say, chil- Business BRIEFS La Grande conducting business survey Mulrony of Ontario. According to the DEQ’s notices of the civil penal- ties, Union County hired Wellens to demolish a building at the site, 60131 Pierce Road, La Grande. Wellens in turn brought on Mulrony, an unlicensed contractor, to demolish the interior of the building. Mulrony created a debris pile approximately 50 feet by 20 feet by 15 feet tall, according to DEQ documents, and an inspec- tion in June 2019 revealed the materials in the pile contained asbestos. The DEQ also reported a licensed asbestos abate- ment contractor in July 2019 completed the abate- ment of the pile. The ﬁ nes are for the open accumulation of asbestos-containing mate- rial, according to the notices. The DEQ also noted the county, Wel- lens and Mulrony failed to have an accredited inspector survey the building for asbestos prior to demolition, but the state environmental reg- ulator did not issue ﬁ nes for that violation. The trio of ﬁ nes was among 11 the DEQ issued in December, which included a $1,600 penalty against Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton for air pollution. The largest penalties were against Columbia 410 LLC in Molalla and its parent com- pany, CHTC Inc, and CEO, Jacob Crabtree, for ongoing air pollution. The DEQ issued a penalty of $198,786 against CHTC Inc., $196,288 against Columbia 410 LLC and $196,288 against Crabtree. dren and educators can still carry the virus home to other family members. Even if all teachers get vaccinated, that doesn’t mean all schools will open immediately. Marc Siegel, spokes- person for Oregon Depart- ment of Education, told the Capital Press his agency’s highest priority is “to return our schools to in-person instruction.” But Siegel said each school has its own plan. Some school districts, he said, are considering summer school options. Siegel said the state will use about $450,000 in incoming coronavirus aid money from the federal government to help make up for lost learning. It could be months before farmworkers and others in the food sector get vaccinated. Oregon has been vacci- nating health care workers, the top priority group, since December. The state has upwards of 400,000 health care workers, and as of Sunday, Oregon Health Authority spokesperson Jonathan Modie told the Capital Press 308,051 doses have been administered. It also will take time to vaccinate educators, daycare workers and school staff — about 110,000 people, according to the Oregon Department of Education. Then comes Ore- gon’s 65-and-older crowd. According to Census data, this includes about 764,400 people. Health ofﬁ cials predict nearly 80% of seniors will be vaccinated by the end of the ﬁ rst week of May. The second week of May, essential workers are expected to be eligible. This will include agricultural workers, but OHA has not yet announced who will take priority. The tax credit ﬁ x many can’t aﬀ ord to miss LIZ WESTON NERDWALLET amilies battered by the pandemic recession soon may discover that the tax refunds they’re counting on are dramatically smaller — or that they actu- ally owe income tax. Con- gress offered a partial solu- tion, but the ﬁ x hasn’t been widely publicized, consumer advocates say. Refunds are crucial to many lower- and moder- ate-income households, which use the money to catch up on bills and med- ical treatments, pay down debt and boost savings. But the unemployment insurance that kept many people aﬂ oat last year may cause problems at tax time this year. Unemployment beneﬁ ts are taxable, but tax withholding is typically vol- untary — and many people who lost jobs either didn’t know their unemployment checks would be taxed, or they decided against with- holding. (Relief checks, such as the $1,200 sent out last year, are not taxable.) Further, unemployment beneﬁ ts are not earned income and so don’t count toward two crucial tax ben- eﬁ ts that keep millions of working families with chil- dren out of poverty: the earned income tax credit and the additional child tax credit. “If you’re a single parent or a couple with kids living on, say, $25,000 a year, you might see 25% or more of your annual income in the form of your federal tax refund because of these credits,” says Timothy Flacke, executive director of Commonwealth, a non- proﬁ t that promotes ﬁ nan- cial security. F There’s a ﬁ x on credits, but people don’t know about it There isn’t an easy work- around for tax refunds shriveled by inadequate withholding. But Congress provided a potential ﬁ x for the tax credits issue in the $900 billion coronavirus relief legislation passed last month: Filers can choose to use their 2019 income to determine their credits rather than their 2020 income. But that ﬁ x hasn’t been widely reported, says Leigh Phillips, chief exec- utive ofﬁ cer of SaverLife, a nonproﬁ t that encour- ages working families to save. Not everyone uses up-to-date tax software or well-informed tax pre- parers, and Phillips worries that many eligible people won’t learn about it before ﬁ ling their returns. The IRS will begin accepting returns Feb. 12. “People are going to start trying to ﬁ le taxes as soon as they possibly can,” Phillips says. “If you think that you’ve got thousands coming in the mail or to your bank account, you’re there day one with your paperwork ready to go.” People who rely on refunds tend to ﬁ le early Research conﬁ rms that the earliest recipients of refunds each year tend to be lower income, says Fiona Greig, co-president of the JPMorgan Chase Institute, which studies data from millions of customer bank accounts. “(A tax refund) tends to be a larger relative cash infusion event for them, and as a result, they tend to seek their refund earlier in the tax refund season,” Greig says. In typical years, tax refunds equal almost six weeks’ take-home pay for the average recipient, the institute found. Last year the average refund was more than $2,500. Families who qualify for the earned income tax credit can receive thou- sands more. The maximum credit for working families with three or more children is $6,660 for 2020, and it’s refundable, which means ﬁ lers get the money even if they don’t owe any tax. The amount you can earn and still qualify rises with family size, so that a married couple with three or more children could get at least a partial credit with adjusted gross income up to $56,844. A single person without children may qualify for a small credit with an adjusted gross income up to $15,820. Meanwhile, the regular child tax credit for children under 17 is $2,000 and not refundable. But low-income families may qualify for a refundable credit, which can be up to 15% of earned income over $2,500, up to $1,400 per child. Tax credits have widespread support The credits have been around for decades and have widespread bipartisan support among lawmakers, Flacke says. “It’s one of the few areas of some consensus across the parties that rewarding workers on the low end of the wage spectrum with these tax credits makes sense,” Flacke says. If you might qualify for one of the tax credits, make sure your tax soft- ware or tax preparer looks at both your 2019 and 2020 incomes before submitting your return. If you ﬁ nd out too late that you could have received a bigger refund, you can ﬁ le an amended return, but you may face a longer wait. Instead of get- ting your refund in a few weeks, an amended return can take up to four months to process. Going forward, Pres- ident Joe Biden has pro- posed one-year expansions of the credits as part of his coronavirus relief package. He wants to increase the maximum earned income tax credit for childless adults from $538 to nearly $1,500 this year and to raise the income limit. Biden also wants to increase the child tax credit to $3,000, plus an extra $600 per child under age 6, and make the full amount refundable. If enacted, these credits could be claimed on returns ﬁ led in 2022. ——— Liz Weston is a colum- nist for the personal ﬁ nance website NerdWallet.com, which provides columns to The Associated Press. VISIT BAKER’S MOST INTERESTING STORE Store is open 24 hours 7 am to 7 pm Take Out Only Take out and Catering is Available. 515 Campbell Street Baker City 541-523-4318 LA GRANDE — The city of La Grande, with sup- port from Rural Development Initiatives and in collabo- ration with other La Grande area partners, is conducting an online review of the regional business climate. The city is seeking input from area business owners to help it identify business needs and to develop regional strategies. This survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. “Results from this survey will be aggregated and anonymized to protect business privacy,” according to statement on the survey website, which is available here: https://bit.ly/3psMV2Y. Workshops focus on workplace culture ENTERPRISE — The Northeast Oregon Economic Development District announces it is hosting two work- shops on creating a productive and inclusive workplace culture. The workshops are for business owners, nonproﬁ t and government employers, team leaders and human relations staff, according to the press release from NOEDD. The series of two workshops cost $40. One workshop costs $15-$25. The cost for additional par- ticipants from the same organization is $25 for the two workshops or $10-$20 for one. The ﬁ rst workshop is “Designing an Irresistible Workplace,” Feb. 11, 9 a.m. to noon, and outlines an effective framework for creating cohesive teams and a workplace in which employees feel engaged and valued, according to the press release. The workshop covers how to sustain a values-based culture, increase trusting relationships and create a trusting team environment. Topics include the future of work, team purpose and mission and commitment via “gives and gets.” Each participant who registers by Jan. 31 receives a set of “values cards” to use during the workshop. The second workshop is “Building Inclusive Work Environments,” Feb. 18, 9 a.m. to noon, and focuses on creating a framework to foster the type of inclu- sive environment that enables high engagement and improved business results. Operations with high diversity are 15% to 35% more likely to outperform their peers, according to the press release. Topics include business beneﬁ ts of diversity, practicing inclusive behaviors and recognizing biased mindsets. Jennifer Coyne, CEO and majority owner of The PEAK Fleet, will present and facilitate these work- shops. The PEAK Fleet is an organizational develop- ment company. During the past 20 years, Coyne devel- oped a successful track record of team leadership in the high tech and ﬁ nancial services industries. To register, visit the upcoming events page at www. neoedd.org. — The Observer An Independent Insurance Agency Trusted Insurance Help Since 1994 Get Trusted, Friendly, Expert Medicare Insurance Help 10106 North C St. • Island City 541-975-1364 • Toll Free 1-866-282-1925 www.reed-insurance.net UPGRADE 215 Elm Street La Gande • (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com www.gossmotors.com 1415 Adams Ave, La Grande 541-963-4161