NEWS
BlueMountainEagle.com
Pot
Findley
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desirous to give back to
the community per the
earlier campaign to allow
recreational marijuana
sales within the county,”
Carpenter said.
The county needed
an ordinance to receive
those taxes, and “as the
year was coming to a
close, time was of the
essence,” Carpenter said.
State law, however,
establishes how taxes
may be imposed, Carpen-
ter said.
“By statute, an emer-
gency may not be
declared to pass an ordi-
nance which imposes a
tax,” he said. “Any ordi-
nance which imposes a
tax must be ratified by
the voters before it can
take effect. Further, any
tax on marijuana must be
ratified by the voters at
the next statewide gen-
eral election.”
Carpenter
specu-
lated that the 3 percent
tax approved by emer-
gency ordinance Dec. 19
“would have remained
undisputed until the
next general election,
in which it, in all likeli-
hood, would have been
ratified by the voters.”
“The local retailer was
willing to charge, collect
and remit the tax to the
county, and the county
was prepared to accept
the tax,” Carpenter said.
“But for the three percent
paid by purchasers of
recreational marijuana,
there appeared to be little
downside.”
However, once ques-
tions about the ordinance
were made public by the
Eagle, the county needed
to reconsider the ordi-
nance, Carpenter said.
When
questioned
about the matter by Fran-
ces Preston near the
end of the court’s Jan. 9
meeting, Myers said he
wouldn’t attach blame
for the error in draft-
ing the tax ordinance.
He said he wasn’t sure
how the mistake was
made and suggested that
somehow wires were
crossed.
Oregon counties also
receive a share of the
17 percent tax on recre-
ational marijuana col-
lected by the state. The
county received $1,556
from the state as its
share for the fourth quar-
ter in 2018, according to
the county Treasurer’s
Office.
supported the establish-
ment of an Oregon Broad-
band Office by Gov. Kate
Brown in December. The
office is not yet funded, and
Brown has proposed $5 mil-
lion in broadband infrastruc-
ture funding for the next
biennium.
Findley attended Rep.
Greg Walden’s meeting with
the Grant County Digital
Network Coalition in John
Day in October. He’s a big
supporter of improved inter-
net access in rural commu-
nities and said he was dis-
appointed that the coalition
failed to win a $3 million
federal broadband grant to
improve internet access in
Grant County.
Findley said he will
champion a bill that will
raise the tax on phone bills
used to support emergency
dispatch services from 75
cents to $1.50. The bill will
also change the formula that
allocates the revenue so a
larger share will go to coun-
ties with fewer than 40,000
residents.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
the legislature continues to
kick the liability for the Pub-
lic Employees Retirement
System down the road. More
work is needed to address the
impacts of PERS on local
and state budgets, but Find-
ley said he has never seen a
“silver bullet” solution.
Gov. Brown announced in
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Meeting Notice
The 2019 Biennial Review of the Upper
Mainstem and South Fork John Day River
Agricultural Water Quality Management
Area Plan will be held from 3:30 – 6:00 pm,
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at the Oregon
Department of Forestry conference room
located at 415 Patterson Bridge Rd. in John
Day. For additional information, contact
Jason Kehrberg or Pat Holliday at the Grant
Soil & Water Conservation District office at
541 575-0135, ext. 101.
2019 Fares
John Day Taxi - 541-620-4255
As
a
service
the community,
we are
running
If you’ve got the to time,
call a People
Mover
for free
24
hours
a
day
now
-
Monday
thru
Saturday
If you’ve got the dime, & want to move’er, call me
From John Day to:
One Way
Airport, GCR:
Canyon City:
Dayville:
Dispensary:
John Day:
Mt. Vernon:
Prairie City:
Tidewater:
Vet Clinic:
$10.00
$10.00
$50.00
$7.50
$5.00
$15.00
$25.00
$10.00
$10.00
Anything
beyond
that: up;
$2.00
a mile the
Please
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for every
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I will get right back to you.
Happy New Year
John Day Taxi
Thanks, Richie
Richie
The impact of PERS on
education can’t be under-
stated — about 25-35 per-
cent of educational fund-
ing goes to PERS, he said.
As a result, local schools
find it difficult to hire good
teachers.
Bentz, who has served
on local school boards, said
he wants to know why the
majority party hasn’t been
held accountable for the
PERS issue. The answer
may lie in the lobbying pow-
ers of teachers unions, which
makes it nearly impossible
to pass effective education
legislation.
Providing
attainable
housing is another complex
issue. Bentz advised com-
munities to protect their
existing housing stock and
hire experts to analyze local
conditions and provide a
plan. Rural homes typically
range from 60-70 years old,
and they were never built to
last a century, he said.
In the end, provid-
ing more attainable hous-
ing will mean more taxes.
Bentz said he was glad to be
back on the Revenue Com-
mittee where he can have
a voice. The housing issue
also needs more public dis-
cussion, he said.
It was Bentz’s prede-
cessor, Sen. Ferrioli, who
helped Grant County get a
$1.8 million appropriation
to improve internet access.
Bentz expects to see fur-
ther support debated in the
legislature. Broadband sup-
porters want users to raise
needed funding through
taxes on phone bills, Bentz
said, but he was concerned
about how the money would
be used.
Bentz is also willing to
take on an old issue that
hasn’t been resolved —
increasing the tax on phone
bills used to help fund 911
dispatch. The proposal
divides rural communities
that struggle to pay for emer-
gency dispatch and metro-
politan areas where funding
is less of a problem, he said.
But effective 911 systems
also help tourists from met-
ropolitan areas as they pass
through rural areas. Raising
the phone tax is a necessary
safety issue, he said.
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Bentz
Bentz said, based on his
experience, these commit-
tees will be working on
much of the most interest-
ing and meaningful legisla-
tion in 2019. His commit-
tee assignments “provide a
chance for me to help pro-
tect and advance the inter-
ests of our part of the state,”
he said.
A fundamental question
facing the Legislature is
whether Oregon should put
a price on carbon emissions
to address climate change.
Most Oregonians tell poll-
sters yes, Bentz said.
There are three ways to
reduce carbon, he said: cut
emissions, tax emissions or
create a tax and cap market
for carbon. After traveling
thousands of miles speak-
ing to experts and the public
and reading piles of reports,
Bentz said he is convinced
taxing carbon is the most
effective way to change
behavior.
The Democrats, how-
ever, prefer cap and trade,
he said. The result could be
significant negative impacts
to rural residents — includ-
ing a 14-16 cent per gallon
increase for gasoline and ris-
ing freight costs. He calls
carbon the most challeng-
ing issue in his legislative
November her goal of appro-
priating an additional $2 bil-
lion for education, but Find-
ley said the numbers aren’t
solid and depend on ideas
such as extending the length
of the school year to 180 days
and reducing class sizes.
Meanwhile, 14 legislators
on the bipartisan Joint Com-
mittee on Student Success
have been studying Oregon’s
low high school graduation
rates and other education
issues. Findley said the 180-
day school year idea is not
backed by good science.
Findley said there’s no
lack of bipartisan support for
improving education, but the
important thing is to get the
best bang for the buck, not
just throwing more money at
the problem.
As a member of the
House committee oversee-
ing veterans issues, Findley
said he understands the need
for more housing opportu-
nities for vets. State hous-
ing programs often include
provisions for veterans, but
the programs have failed to
live up to their goals.
Supporting
attain-
able housing will require
money, Findley said, but
that shouldn’t mean addi-
tional taxes. Oregon doesn’t
have a revenue problem, he
said, it has a spending and
accountability
problem.
One study found the state
could have saved $1 bil-
lion in the past biennium by
spending tax money more
wisely.
Oregon Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, addresses the Grant County Court April 11.
The additional revenue
will help rural communities
that struggle to fund 911 dis-
patch. Findley said the bill
has been introduced and is
gaining bipartisan support in
the legislature.
While the state faces an
estimated $800 million bud-
get shortfall for health care,
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Oregon Sen. Cliff Bentz
career.
That would make health
care the second most chal-
lenging. With one out of
every four Oregonians
expected to be using Medic-
aid, the state is facing a $600
million budget shortfall for
the program, he said.
In the past, taxes on hos-
pitals raised funds for Med-
icaid, he said, but new leg-
islative proposals include
taxes on insurance premi-
ums. What’s needed are cost
controls, Bentz said, but
prior efforts failed, and he’s
seen no new proposals for
controlling the cost of health
care.
Bentz said he also hasn’t
seen any new proposals for
controlling the state’s Pub-
lic Employees Retirement
System. He blamed a lack
of enthusiasm by the gover-
nor’s office and the need for
significant structural reform
to the program to prevent
past mistakes.
A9
Hello Grant County,
I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and
are off to a great start for the New Year.
Our January Chamber meeting will be
Thursday, January 17th. The Board meets
at 10:30 a.m. at the Chamber office, and the
no-host luncheon is at noon at the Outpost.
We have two guest speakers scheduled
that I think you will find very interesting.
Greg Swanson from Itz on Target will be
sharing some exciting information about
digital display campaigns; come and listen
to his presentation. He will be discussing
geotargeting, keyword search targeting,
contextual targeting, geofencing and
retargeting. Lea Gettle, from Oregon Trail
Electric Co-op, will be sharing exciting
information about some things OTEC is
going to do that will promote economic
development and tourism in the
communities in their region. She will tell
you about a virtual reality tour that is
going to start filming here in Grant County
very soon and how you and your business
can be a part of it. Please plan to join us;
this is exciting stuff!
Also, if you are interested in using
Facebook for your business, there is going
to be a class January 23rd that will help
you get going with it. The class is going to
be at the OSU Extension Classroom at 116
NW Bridge Street on Wednesday, January
23rd from 6-8 p.m.; Chris Gibson is the
instructor. For more information, call
Didgette at 541-575-1911 or email her at
mccrackend@oregonstate.edu
I want to give a shout out to Angie
Jones of the People Mover for the
fantastic job she is doing. Grant County is
very lucky to have her! The People Mover
will be starting their deviated fixed route
on Monday, January 14th. It will loop John
Day-Canyon City every 45 minutes from 7
a.m. to 6 p.m. Another route will loop
between Prairie City and Mt. Vernon three
times a day – 7 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. And
best of all, these rides are FREE.
If you travel between John Day and
Boise, be on the lookout for our new
billboard in the Ontario area! We are
hoping it will encourage travelers to take
“the best road trip through Oregon – On
Hwy 26 to Grant County, where the high
desert meets the mountains.” We are very
excited about it! Let us know if you see it.
We are hoping to get one on the west side
of the state also.
We hope to see you all on January 17th
at our monthly Chamber meeting. Enjoy
the great weather while it lasts!
Tammy Bremner
Manager, Grant County Chamber of
Commerce
89604