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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2022)
The Columbia Press July 1, 2022 Voters to face library levy increase in fall The Columbia Press Voters can expect to find a request on the November bal- lot for continued operation of Warrenton Community Li- brary. City leaders agreed to a five-year local option levy that would raise the current library tax rate from 33 cents to 38 cents. After giving the plan a supportive nod Tues- day night, the city commis- sion’s official vote on the ballot measure will occur at their next meeting. “The clear heart and soul of the library system has always been its people,” said Kelsey Balensifer, chair of the War- renton Community Library Board. Other public libraries in the county have an average of one employee for every 6.7 hours the library is open, she told commissioners. Warrenton’s library has 12 hours of opera- tion per employee. A community library was es- tablished in Warrenton by or- dinance in 1993. For 15 years, Warrenton’s property owners paid 9 cents for every $1,000 of their property’s assessed value to support the small Warrenton Community Library is at 138 S. Main Ave. library based in a city- hired, an automated owned building in Ham- check-out system put in mond. The small sum place, ebooks were add- paid for one part-time ed to the available op- library director and just tions and the library is 22 operating hours per open six days a week. Balensifer week. “It seems the mission The building’s structur- should be ‘Service above al deficiencies required the city and beyond the boundaries of to find a new library location time, service and staffing,’ ” and in 2017, the library was Balensifer told commissioners. moved to its current location Staffing levels need to be on Main Avenue after voters increased for the library to chose to tax themselves 33 remain a vital service to resi- cents per $1,000 of assessed dents, she said, adding that she value. has confidence in Warrenton’s The current levy raises about voters. $190,000 per year to support “Every five years, when asked library operations. to support library levies, they During the past five years, a have risen to the challenge,” full-time library director was she said. County approves plan for short-term rentals Short-term rentals, which have been the subject of much debate during the recent hous- ing shortage, will be allowed in 16 zones in unincorporated Clatsop County, commission- ers decided June 22. They adopted an ordinance formally recognizing them and directed county staff to develop a process and time- line for evaluating a potential cap on the number of short- term rentals permitted. “We’ve spent time listening to various concerns and per- spectives and we thank every- one for their involvement,” Commission Chair Mark Ku- jala said. “We’re now enter- ing the next phase of evalu- ating where and how caps on short-term rentals might be applied in certain zones.” Short-term vacation rent- als – defined as allowing no more than 30 days per stay – have been licensed for many years throughout the county. In April, commission- ers approved revisions to the permit program, which shortened the license period from five to two years, cre- ated a tiered complaint re- sponse and penalty system, and made other revisions. The board voted in August 2021 to place a moratorium on new short-term licenses. The moratorium has been ex- tended twice and is in place until Aug. 26. As the board considers the imposition of caps, the board may choose to further extend the moratori- um. Staff will present the pro- posed timeline and process at an Aug. 3 work session. Owners and operators of short-term rentals in unin- corporated parts of the county are required to obtain permits through a multi-step process that includes reviews and approval by county planning and public health offices and in-person site inspections. Operators also must pay the county’s transient room tax. 3 City OKs $45 million spending plan The Columbia Press Warrenton city commis- sioners approved a $45 mil- lion city operating budget for the coming fiscal year and a $9.9 million operating budget for the Warrenton Urban Renewal Agency. Commissioners also ad- opted the city’s five-year capital improvement plan, which spells out projects and large expenditures ex- pected in the years ahead. The budgets and the im- provement plan are the re- sult of months of planning, studying, public hearings, and decision-making by all of the city’s departments. A budget committee made up of the five commission- ers and five members of the public gave initial approval to the 100-page city budget document in May. Tuesday night’s actions made the budget committee’s earlier approval official. How will the city’s $45 million be spent? While res- idents are welcome to view and comment on the entire budget in person and in de- tail, few do. Much of the money collect- ed through property taxes goes into the general fund, which includes police, fire, administration, building and planning, parks, and the municipal court. And then there are a variety of separate funds – where money comes in through user fees, grants, special tax- es and other sources -- that pay for the two marinas, wa- ter, storm and wastewater treatment, garbage collec- tion, the library, the com- munity center, street main- tenance and more. The capital improvement plan lists various projects (paving, wasterwater treat- ment plant improvements, etc.) and purchases (a new fire truck or computer sys- tem), and shows where the money will come from to pay for them and what year that’s supposed to happen. All of the budget docu- ments and the capital im- provement plan can be found on the city’s website, ci.warrenton.or.us.
