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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2017)
PROSPECTORS WIN DISTRICT TITLE The – PAGE B1 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s newspaper since 1868 W EDNESDAY , F EBRUARY 22, 2017 • N O . 8 • 22 P AGES • $1.00 www.MyEagleNews.com Man who killed John Day cop will be freed By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle T AX ? INCREASE Your Taxes: Past, present and potential future The Eagle/Sean Hart Grant County Assessor David Thunell explains how each property in the county is categorized by the tax districts in which it is located. Grant County property values (Millions of dollars) By Sean Hart Blue Mountain Eagle $1,500 million P roposals under consideration by the Oregon Legislature could substan- tially increase property taxes. Although no concrete plan has emerged, the League of Oregon Cities has advocated reworking the tax limits and structure approved by voters in the 1990s. These limits and how they are implemented have essentially defi ned Oregon property taxes EDITOR’S for the last 20 years. NOTE: This Although Grant is the second County Assessor David entry in the Thunell said many as- Eagle’s 2017 sessors believe Oregon “Your Tax- has the most complicated es” series, in property tax system in which we will the nation, understand- examine all 27 ing the two key measures taxing districts that established the cur- in Grant Coun- rent system provides a ty so you know basic overview. where your property taxes The old levy system are going. Before voters ap- proved Measure 5 and Measure 50 in the ’90s, Oregon’s property taxes were based on a levy system. Budget committees for the taxing districts — such as cities, school districts and counties — would determine the total amount of funding needed, and this total was divided up proportionately among the properties in the district based on their real market value. See TAX, Page A12 1 Real market value is the estimated selling price and $1,309.5: Up 4.4% from 2015-16 the basis for Measure 5’s $15 limit for most properties. 1,200 2 With Measure 50 in 1997-98, Real market value Measure 5 value (RMV less the taxable or assessed value is separated from real market value. 900 special assessment discounts) Assessed value $673.5 600 $287 $549.8 300 In 1999, the forestland program is established as a special tax assessment and farm special assessment calculations are changed. For these special assessments, Measure 5’s limits are based on the reduced amounts known as Measure 5 value. 3 0 1995- 96 ’97- 98 ’99- ’00- 00 01 ’05- 06 Sources: Grant County Assessor’s Office; Oregon Dept. of Revenue ’10- 11 ’15- 2016- 16 17 Sean Hart and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group Cities push reforms to increase property tax revenues By Claire Withycombe Capital Bureau A s legislators set to work on balancing the state’s budget, some lawmak- ers and lobbyists are consider- ing property tax reform to ben- efi t local government budgets. In particular, supporters want to change how property taxes are calculated, and re- move limits on tax rates. Two ballot measures ap- proved by voters in the 1990s, Measure 5 and Measure 50, limited the amount of property taxes Oregonians pay, and an- nual tax increases. Measure 5, passed in 1990, limited the total tax rates lev- ied by all local taxing bodies to no more than $15 per $1,000 of real market property value — up to $5 for education, and $10 for other local taxing bod- ies. Measure 50, passed in 1997, decoupled a property’s assessed valuation, the amount on which it is taxed, from real market value, according to See REVENUE, Page A12 City manager proposes economic development plan By Rylan Boggs Blue Mountain Eagle John Day City Manager Nick Green is ready to take on John Day’s failing infrastruc- ture, population decline and unemployment rate. To address these problems, Green is proposing a three- pronged approach. He wants to make John Day a more desirable place to live, adjust city spending to support im- provement projects and fi nd investors and partners to help the city grow. “If we can regain the popu- lation we’ve lost over the last 30 years by differentiating our city to achieve a more compet- itive position, our businesses will become more profi table, new jobs will be created and The Eagle/Rylan Boggs A water tank above John Day. public ser- vices will become more efficient,” Green said. “More im- p o r t a n t l y, Nick making in- Green vestments in our economy will improve the quality of life for all John Day residents.” Grant County has the high- est unemployment rate in the state at 7.2 percent, according to the Oregon Employment Department, and the sec- ond-lowest median household income in Oregon at $32,614 per household, according to Green. He wants to attract young working families, active retir- ees and digital commuters to create a more diverse and re- silient local economy, which will promote growth in insti- tutions like schools and hos- pitals. Young working families will help bring fresh ideas into the community, boost school enrollment and contribute to the local economy, he said, and attracting active retirees with disposable income would boost the local economy. Digital commuters often have a choice where they live, he said, and John Day’s out- door opportunities could be an excellent incentive to at- tract them. However, the city needs better broadband con- nectivity fi rst. Green said the city has the See PLAN, Page A7 The man who pleaded guilty to killing a John Day police offi cer in 1992 will soon be freed. T h e Oregon Supreme Court Feb. 16 denied a request to Sidney review an a p p e a l s Dean Porter court de- cision that reinstated Sidney Dean Porter’s 2013 prison release date due to legal er- rors that year by the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision. Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter said the board will now begin putting together a release plan for Porter, who killed Offi cer Frank Ward April 8, 1992. “After all the hard work that my staff and I put in to ensure that Porter would re- main incarcerated, the deci- sion of the Supreme Court is disappointing, but not unex- pected,” Carpenter said. Porter had pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. Ac- cording to the appeals court opinion, Porter attacked Ward, who had responded to a report of domestic violence at Porter’s residence. Porter “bludgeoned Ward with his fi sts and a 10-pound piece of fi rewood,” according to the opinion, and the autopsy revealed a skull fracture and contusions in Ward’s brain. After Carpenter’s tes- timony before the parole board in 2015, the board ruled Porter was a danger to the community and or- dered him to remain in cus- tody until at least 2020. In September 2016, however, the Oregon Court of Ap- peals overturned the parole board’s decision to postpone Porter’s 2013 prison release date, stating the board lacked authority to rescind a release date “absent a timely hear- ing,” according to the court opinion. “A defi ning principle of our legal system is that both sides have the opportunity to be heard before decisions are made which affect them,” Carpenter said. “The Court of Appeals found that Porter was not given such an op- portunity, and the Supreme Court apparently agrees.” The appeals court ruled the parole board should not have postponed the 2013 release date without a time- ly hearing. Carpenter, who was elected in 2014, said a June 2013 release date was issued after a former district attorney failed to present ev- idence at an exit interview earlier that year. Although more evidence was provided after that in- terview, the parole board did not hold a hearing with Porter until September 2013, after postponing the June re- lease date. The appeals court ruled evidence present- ed after the postponement of the release date could not be used to justify the postponement that already occurred.
