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Following the defeat of the budget levy for the City of
Heppner, voters turned out Wednesday night for the council
meeting. One of the reasons for the turnout was to see if the
council would take a stand and close the library"1
swimming pool. Although Justine Weatherford asked the
committee to close the library the committee refused. The
committee also voted to open the swimming pool and in the
same breath voted to cut a man from the street department.
This means the city will have to operate with a two-man
street crew starting July 1. The city receives $12,000 per year
in highway taxes for any necessary paving within the city
limits. Last year it cost the city $9,000 to get a contractor to
do the required paving. If the city fails to do the necessary
paving at the end of a two-year period the City will have to
repay the state $24,000. The city is currently operating on a
day-to-day pay basis and if this continues it will not have
sufficient funds to operate during the fiscal year. Although
the budget goes into effect July 1, the city receives no tax
monies until January 1977.
The city has no reserve funds for any of its services to the
residents and loses money on the swimming pool each year.
Yet the swimming pool is classified the same as motherhood
and apple pie. Residents keep asking the same question.
"What are the children going to do this summer? The
council doesn't have the answers, all they know is there is no
money to operate anything, let alone the swimming pool.
After a discussion Wednesday night in which residents
asked if water and sewer rates would be increased, the
council refused any comment until another meeting by the
budget committee. If water and sewer rates are raised as
well as the rates for the swimming pool the city will still not
have money to operate.
After this was repeatedly explained the same question was
asked "When is the swimming pool going to open?"
This question will be resolved at the city council meeting
J Another complaint regarding the levy was that residents
didn't know the city was broke. All they knew was they would
be taxed another $8.08 per $1,000 of true cash value if the levy
Snfe members of the audience claimed they did not know ,
where the city fathers spent the money. A budget has been at
the City Hall for the past weeks, however, no one has taken
the time to look at it. The same applies for council meetings.
There is no citizen involvement in the community. While the
city can operate the library on a voluntary basis it cannot
operate the swimming pool on a volunteer basis for
insurance reasons. Regardless of who operates the pool, foe
city is still liable for any accident which might occur on the
grounds.
On the lighter side of the news:
Recently returning to Heppner from Umatilla County
prominent citizen was rounding a curve, exceeding the speed
limit when he noticed a highway patrol officer. The officer
clocked the speeder with his radar device and stopped our
friend As he approached the vehicle he noticed a CB antenna
and asked the driver. "Didn't the truckers notify you that I
was in the area?" Our red-faced friend could only reply,
"Sorry I didn't have the set turned on."
Last Friday approximately 35-W jurors appeared at the
courthouse to be selected for jury duty. After, a lengthy wait
by the jurors the roll was called to see if all the prospective
jurors were present. Judge Kaye, Pendleton, was ready to
assume his place on the bench; when he noticed that neither
of the defendants or their lawyers had appeared in court A
hurried phone call to a Portland attorney asking why he
failed to appear in court brought the following reply. A letter
asking for postponement of the case had been sent to the
county court, however, the letter was not received by Friday.
Judge Kaye apologized to all the jurors for the
inconvenience and asked all jurors to be present this Friday
at the courthouse for another trial. Hope someone besides the
judge and the jurors show up this time.
Letters for publication
should be addresed to the
Editor, The Gazette-Times,
P.O. Box 337, Heppner, OR.
97836. All letters are subject
to abridgement and must be
signed and carry an address.
Short letters, typed double
spaced are preferred, but all
letters will be considered. We
do not publish third person
letters or anonymous ones.
GAZETTE-TIMES
THE GAZETTE-TIMES
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EDITOR:
In recent years the condition of the state highways within
Morrow County have shown a marked deterioration due to '
the lack of funding and planning for construction and
maintenance.
If you feel that something should be done to correct this
existing situation, you will have a chance to express your
PThe Oregon State Highway Division is holding 22 meetings
throughout the state to present construction plans for the
next six years. Construction priorities and timetables for
many of the proposed projects are still flexible and the
highway department plans could be modified as a result of
comments at these meetings.
The meeting in this area will be held at the Pendleton City
Hall. Wednesday, June 2. 8 p.m., at the Conference Room.
It is extremely important that as many citizens from
Morrow County as possible attend this meeting.
LARRY MILLS.
President, Heppner-Morrow County
Chamber of Commerce
EDITOR:
My husband and I are subscribers of the Gazette-Times
and have enjoyed Justine Weatherford's Bicentennial
Forums, however, her article about the Brosnan family was
very disappointing.
Mrs. Weatherford went into great detail about members of
the Brosnan family, but made no mention of my husband,
Joseph M. Brosnan, or his sister Margaret (Mrs. Donald B.
Williams).
In the following week's edition of the Gazette-Times, she
wrote an apology, which was equally as disappointing as the
first article.
Joe is the second son and Margaret, the only daughter of
John and Zetta and both 'were born and reared on the
Brosnan Ranch. They now live in Little Rock, AR.
Joe has one son, Joe Jr., who lives in Homer, AK. He and
his wife. Marianne, have four children. His second son,
Gerard, and his daughter, Kathleen, live in Portland, OR.
Gerard and wife. Mary Grace, have two children.
I feel sure this error was unintentional, but please publish
this letter.
PAULINE E. BROSNAN
Little Rock, AR.
VIEWPOINT
Oregon's sixir cent limitation has severely restricted the
amount of revenue available to cities from property taxes
when they have maintained their budget within that
limitation. ,, . .
As you know this is our first year for requesting . levy
outside the six per cent limitation, and available cash has
been budgeted out over the past years, eaten up by increased
operational costs. , ,
A taxpayers this should not be difficult for you to
understand, as costs have soared in the past few year.
According to information received this past week from the
League of Oregon Cities, consumer prices have increased
almost 60 per cent according to the U.S. Department of Labor
from 1967 to 1975. In that same period the cost of operating
Joca! governments has increased almost 80 per cent. This
should clarify why our available cash is depcleted or as a
practical matter been exhausted.
One may ask why we haven't been budgeting an ending
fund balance over the past years so a beginning fund balance
would be available to operate from the beginning of the fiscal
vear In July until November or December when the tax
money is made available to the City. This 1. . fair question,
but the point Is. it has not been done, and I can only say It is
due to not having available cash to budget that way.
A fair question now, is. shouldn't we pass levy with this in
mind to start at least building up small ending fund balance
In each department until eventually we will have an
appropriate beginning fund balance to operate on through
these "tax waiting months"?
I'm sure some questions remain unanswered In budgeting
as far as those of you who do not work with the planned
program budget iys tern and even tome for lh
The Oregon Local Budget Law requires certain procedures
that must be followed pertaining to formulation and
publishing of the budget. The publishing procedure requires
not less than 15 and not more than 23 days prior to the budget
hearing followed by notice of publication.
The first budget committee meeting must be published not
l than I and not more than 14 davi prior to meetln If
the committee doesn't set a date for the 2nd meeting before
they adjourn the first meeting, the second meeting has to be
published the same time difference as the first meeting.
Before appropriations may be spent from budgeted items
the budget has to be certified with the County Assessor and
the certification should be done by July 15. although an
extension may be granted by the assessor if he feels the
request is justified.
Another item of great interest is budgeting for taxes not
expected to be received. This percentage is figured from
prior collections and this percentage has to be Included in the
levy when budgeting to stay within the six per cent limitation
and this item alone is approximately $5,000 or more
depending on the collection factor and budget levy.
Just recently In our news media the workmens
compensation is requesting a 41.5 per cent Increase and that
is only partially what economics can do to a limited budget.
I agree with our freedom to vote and certainly have and
will defend that right. Sometimes a lack of communication
will bring about a defeated levy and I'm sure that if you will
consider the growth our city has made over the years added
with the Increase of operating expenses our request Is not
unreasonable. Should our revised request fail I can see
substantial curtailment In non-essential services as well as
essential services.
I can see where our City has growing pains and perhaps we
taxpayers can alleviate them, if not we may have worse
shrinking pains, and find our City deteriorating to a state of
considerable more expense to live with.
For those who are on social security or disabled there Is a
tax reduction eligibility and if you haven't already done no,
perhaps you should check the tax department to see If you
quJify.
My summation Is as easy as two plus two. Loss of revenue,
available cash and Increased expenditures through no
control of our own.
MARSHALL LOVGREN,
Budget Officer
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DEAR MISTER EDITOR: ..
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the month, a few by the year and a few he ha,
addsupeverythingon
enoughto pay his0 bills Sffl over fer hi. tab
S nee he know" practical everbody he gives credit to h .In t
to concerned about what they pay him with bull e told the
fellers that he has been reading in some fto
k, hVP trvina to replace checks that replaces casn.
SStSSS feller said, there's to much paper
involved In doing business. Banks
mountains of checks they process ever month so now ther je
Tome up with somepun called interior fund transfer.. TO.
means Eank computers will take
somebody else, all you go to do is tell t to. A j your regular
payments can be handled with transfers, cutting down on
yTchecks The feller that runs the store said we've gone
rom tl to checks to credit cards to computers jnher.
we'll bo from here is anybodoy's guess, rer his money, ne
Taia ht coulLake do with anything he could use to balance
hi. family books, and he wouldn't feci at all bad about taking
restmade hone'y as pay fer coffee as long as
interior transfers like the bank computers. He 11 Just use
goods instead of figgers.
The paying with numbers reminded Ed Dooiittle of the
pie he sabout the way the comptroller of the , currency
Spends old fashion money. The comptroller James Smith
spent 124 days at meetings last year, and he spent $54 000
Sing to em. He stayed in $200 a day hotel room, and he
hdlea out $1,200 for a three-day board bill In Houston Ld
said this feller must figger the way to control currency Is to
keep it moving so fast it can't git in trouble. And the tax
money he spent was helped by the trips on airplanes and in
hotels owned by banks his office checks up on.
Speaking of numbers, Clem Webster sa.d he s looking fer
the day when a man's name will be numbers. Right now, he
said, your name is nothing without your driver's license, your
Social Security number and your telephone number We
might as well shake em all together and come up with one
number and forgit word names, was Clem's idee.
Personal, Mister Editor, I'm fer cutting back number, and
keeping names. I've writ to my Congressman, giving him all
my numbers, and I II let you know which way he dodges on
this one. Probable, he'll make a interior transfer.
Yours truly,
MAYOR ROY.
OSU Extension Service News
by
Morrow Extension Staff
COUNSELOR RETREAT
Involvement, responsibility, and planning the forthcoming
4-H Camp were the highlights of the recent counselor retreat
held at Henderson Park near Fossil. Older 4-H member,
from Gilliam, Wheeler, Sherman and Morrow counties who
will be serving as counselors at the 411 Camp at Cutsforth
Park July 6 10 attended the training session which was given
by local Extension Agents.
Counselors attending from Morrow County were Erin
Evans, Clint Carlson, Pam Cantin and Donald Richards. A
number of other counselors from this county were unable to
attend due to school involvements.
Plans for the camp were completed at the retreat, with
each counselor accepting responsibility for a number of
activities, according to Hirdine Tullis and Mike Howell,
Morrow Extension staff who attended and participated In the
training events. Camp will be a four-county event this year,
with both campers and counselors from the four counties
spending the week at the Morrow County 4 H camp at
Cutsfork Park.
REMINDER
The May 29 deadline is approaching fast for registration to
attend the OSU Mini College. Forms are available at the
Extension office, and "we'll send one out to you if you call,"
reported Birdine Tullis. An exciting variety of classes are
offered during the week of June 21 23, as well as the
opportunity to live and learn in the college atmosphere. All
this for only $50, which includes room, board, and
registration. It is the best bargain available anywhere for a
learning vacation.
IIOMEMXKEKS
LEADERS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE SELECTS
Study group and related committees take a summer break
from May to September, as many women Involved In the
Extension programs are very busy with other activities.
May is traditionally the month for election of officers who
will assist and carry out the special events planned by
women involved In the program. Elected as leaders of the
Homcmakers Advisory group was Vera Cooley, Irrigon.
chairman; Claudia Hughes, Heppner, vkehalrman;
Mildred Rhea, taxington, secretary and Alice Harrison,
Bourdman, treasurer.
HEI.Il DAYS
Two field days of Interest to Morrow County wheat growers
are scheduled for June 15 and 16.
June 15 Is the date for the Pendleton Station Field Day
beginning at 10 a m. and ending at 4 p m.
June 16 Is the Field Day at Sherman Station In Moro. The
program begins at 1:30 p m. and runs to 4:30 p m.
Subjects which will be covered at Pendleton Include: Feed
grain varieties, grain quality, green bug, Turkish
agriculture. The afternoon tour will Include variety drill
plots, selective control of chcatgrass In meI
diseases and control, and tillage and non tillage studies In
Winter Wheat.
The Sherman Station tour will include: stand establish
men! In dryland wheat, progress In feed grain research,
small grain variety trials, minimum tillage In wheal fallow,
seed sizing studies on drland wheat, and winter and spring
crossing program.
TWO THE GAZETTE-TIMES. Hepp-ef. OR. TW.y. M.y tl. H76
Mayor of Hardman
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