EIGHT- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Public officials in the state say they are concerned about Portland’s
capacity to buy and run the utility Beyond Portland, a wary view of PGE
Reprinted from the
Sunday, May 08, 2005
edition of The O regonian
By (.¡ail Kinsey Hill
W hile m om entum
builds within Portland City
Hall to buy Portland General
Electric from Enron, anxiety
festers outside the city.
Throughout PG E’s
sphere o f influence — in
c o u n tie s ranging from
populous Clackam as and
W ashington to sm aller
Columbia and M orrow —
many public officials openly
w orry about P o rtla n d ’s
ability to buy and oversee
Oregon’s largest utility. They
fear the urban powerhouse
w ould bully them into
compliance on crucial issues
such as ra te -se ttin g or,
worse, ignore them
More than
27 percent of
Morrow County’s
property tax
revenue comes
from PGE, a
percentage
unmatched in
any other county
“We absolutely must
have fair representation,”
said Salem M ayor Janet
Taylor, who admits unease
with her political kin in the
columned building at Fourth
Avenue and Jefferson Street
in downtown Portland
On one level, the
acquisition effort has united
a broad a sso rtm en t o f
Oregonians intent on freeing
PGE from the fallen Enron,
securing local ownership and
lowering utility rates. On
another, it has accentuated
fin a n c ial, p o litic a l and
cu ltu ral differences that
separate Portland from its
neighbors and aggravated
the d istrust betw een the
mighty and the slight
“I hate to say it, but
it exacerbates the urban-
rural divide,” said Tony
Hyde, who, as chairman o f
the C olum bia C ounty
Com m ission, governs an
area heavily dependent on
p ro p e rty tax revenue
generated by a PGE-owned
power plant near Clatskanie
If
the
unease
coalesces into organized
opposition, Portland could
find itself in a political tangle
of
d e a l-b o tc h in g
proportions A suburban-
rural revolt could scare off a
skittish Enron In so doing,
it also could deepen rifts
am ong
c o u n tie s
and
embarrass big-city leaders
who insist they want only the
best for those living within
the 16 counties in which
PGE delivers electricity or
holds assets
City momentum
P ortlan d o fficials
insist support grows by the
day for their proposal, which
would rely on city-issued
revenue bonds to buy PGE
and a reg io n al form o f
g o v e rn a n ce to estab lish
policies and rates
An outside operator,
not a city bureau, would run
the utility, officials say, a
d irect
resp o n se
to
widespread concerns about
Portland’s ability to manage
such a large, com plex
operation.
“I think we have a
critical mass o f support that
allows us to move forward,”
said
P o rtla n d
C ity
C om m issioner Erik Sten,
who has pushed, off and on,
for a city purchase for almost
three years.
The city renewed its
effort in March when state
regulators rejected a $2.35
billion buyout proposal from
private equity firm Texas
P acific
G roup.
The
Legislature, responding in
part to concerns about the
city’s bid, is considering a bill
that would create a state-
san c tio n e d
public
corporation to buy PGE.
Senate Bill 1008 cleared the
Democrat-controlled Senate
on Friday but faces an uphill
battle in the Republican-
controlled House
Sten has w orked
hard to assu re public
o fficia ls,
b u sin ess
organizations and customer
groups that he and a diverse
advisory group are carefully
designing a public utility that
would provide reliable, low-
cost electricity to all 767,000
households and businesses in
PG E ’s six-county service
area.
G iven tax and
financing advantages, city
financial analysts say, the
Portland-owned utility could
cut costs by at least $100
million annually. The savings
would result in rate cuts o f
10 percent, Sten has said.
Sten admits that the
city’s liberal political makeup
and its sheer size make it an
easy ta rg e t for ridicule.
“Because w e’re Portland,
we have trouble getting the
trust we should,” he said
“They need to accept us at
our word.”
To be sure, some
officials o f ju risd ic tio n s
o u tsid e P o rtlan d have
tentatively encouraged Sten
to go ahead, while others
have withheld judgment.
B ut
warm
acceptance is hard to come
by.
M oving
o u tsid e
Portland’s core, support for
th e m unicip al p u rch ase
quickly gives way to caution,
sk ep ticism and o u trig h t
opposition. •
“These people are
nuts!” Carlton Mayor Kathy
O riet said o f P o rtlan d
officials in a recent e-mail to
S ilv erto n M ay o r Ken
Wedding Tabl es
Tyan S a n d e r s o n & Luke S w a n so n
Wedding Satu rday, Mag 21st
-
L ena G o s s e t t a n d B en ja m in M cE llig o tt
Wedding Satu rday, June 4th
-
M elissa C u ts fo r th and O la f P edersen
Wedding Saturday, June 18th
-
Iricia C o e & Jon L oren ce
Wedding Satu rday, June 25th
-
217 North Main • Heppner
MuJWWJ'J D jiu § ^
6 7 6 -9 1 5 8
S trin g Heppner. Lexington 11
(
__________
_ o _____
It 0f*gon* l* 9 ______
M t utlHtv.«Mi
HtjOOO
rto m ___________________
tn m su csunttti to
caM itln. «rttan p o o r plant*. «utoUtton» «id « t t r
m . H ot * • m iti it« lé-rtunty traMtn «f W * lufluunci «od Ih* turn mi
t* i I» tool turMktfom such «
lu it M frMCftM H
lM
COU N Î I I S 0 : 1 b
AND A S S IT *
. ( r t ioctttd PGÍ pays M M t n t iii ptoptrty
citm Munti« wd scNwtt
tD U N M tS N t l * A S S IT * (itllT
in a
•sc
la«
SOOWTD
LiU
■UCHICL UtX«/Tt€ OUtGOWM
not saying we d on’t trust
Hector. “They act like they them W e’re ju s t saying
already own PGE.”
things happen.”
Outlying anxieties
C olum bia C ounty
Critics worry most also frets about sitting in the
ab o u t
a d eq u a te nose-bleed section o f any
representation
d e cisio n -m ak in g aren a
Would counties with PGE’s largest gas-fired plant
far fewer PGE custom ers is along the Columbia River
than Portland’s Multnomah near the north county town
County find themselves with o f Clatskanie, and another
scant say in decisions made power plant, Port Westward
by a newly formed board o f — estimated to cost PGE
directors?
$300 million — is under
“ We have som e construction nearby.
serio u s co n cern s ab o u t
The county formed
Portland being the prime an urban renewal district to
p u rch aser,” said M artha acco m m o d ate
site
Schrader, chairwoman o f the improvements, such as roads
C lack am as
C o u n ty and a water-cooling system,
Com m ission. “ It d o e sn ’t for the new plant, and it’s
seem to lend itself to a more counting on fiiture property
regional view.”
tax revenue from PGE to pay
Salem’s Taylor sits off the $34 million in debt
on the 12-member advisory financing.
group and is pushing for
“ W e’re u n iq u ely
geographic representation, a invested in the outcome o f
means o f selection that she this transaction,” said state
thinks will “ p ro te c t o ur Sen B etsy Jo h n so n , D-
constituents.”
Scappoose, who represents
O th er
ad v iso ry C olum bia
and
o th e r
group members want board neighboring counties.
choices to focus more on
Hyde, the Columbia
utility expertise than home C o u n ty
com m ission
ad d ress
O th erw ise, chairm an, ch afes at the
territorial self-interest could thought o f a city advisory
rule, they say.
group busily defining details
w ithout input form local
representatives. The group is
made up o f representatives
“
o f consumer and business
organizations, such as the
Citizens’ Utility Board and
A sso ciated
O regon
In d u strie s,
and
of
governm
ent
associations,
C o u n ties such as
Columbia and Morrow have such as th e L eague o f
few PGE customers, but feel Oregon Cities.
“If you’re not at the
the same edginess Each o f
table,
y
o u ’re part o f the
the tw o is home to PGE
p o w er plan ts and m ajor menu,” Hyde said.
substations and transmission The city’s reputation .
P o rtlan d ’s politics
lines, valuable assets that
and
what
some describe as
generate significant property
taxes and franchise fees for an anti-business bent lie at
local b u d g ets, including the heart o f the debate over
general governm ent and representation.
“ W e’re far m ore
school and fire districts.
conservative,”
Clackamas
M ore
than
27
percent o f Morrow County’s C o u n ty ’s S ch rad er said.
property tax revenue comes “ T h eir fram ew o rk fo r
from PGE, a p ercentage making decisions is different
unm atched in any o th e r than ours.”
Schrader and Salem
county.
“ T h a t’s a huge Mayor Taylor point to their
chunk,” said Ray Grace, a c o u n tie s ’ farm ing and
M orrow
C ounty nursery businesses, which
commissioner, who fears a rely on large am ounts o f
publicly owned utility would electricity for irrigation, and
exercise its right to cease to an e n erg y -in te n siv e
paying taxes, a move that manufacturing sector. They
w ould “literally strangle fear that Portland leaders
m ight in crease b usiness
Morrow County.”
P o rtla n d
city utility rates to subsidize
officials have promised that residential rates or pay for
P G E - tu r n e d - m u n ic ip a l broader low-income aid or
would continue to pay state renewable energy programs.
“ F or us, elec tric
incom e ta x e s and local
property taxes, even though, rates are a real determinant
by law, it w o u ld n ’t be o f eco n o m ic s u c c e ss,”
o b lig ated to do so. Taylor said “I’m sorry, but
Nevertheless, the amount of I just don’t think Portland is
money involved keeps Grace as pro-business as we are.”
T hen,
th e r e ’s
and others agitated
management.
It
doesn’t
take
If a financial crisis hit
long
for
Portland
critics
to
th e utility, for exam ple,
policies might be altered to m ention the city ’s W ater
short-change the far-flung B ureau and its b o tch ed
counties, said Terry Tallman, co m p u ter billing system
w ho, as M orrow C ounty More recently, fault-finders
Ju d g e,
heads
the b rin g up M ay o r Tom
P o tte r’s decision to pull
commission
“ T h e y ’re th e big Portland police officers off
dog, and w e’re the little the FB I’s Joint Terrorism
dog,” Tallman said. “We re Task Force.
Terry Tallman:
They’re the big
dog, and we’re
the little dog.”
“ I ’ll be fra n k ,”
S ilv e rto n ’s H ecto r said
“When you see governance
like that out o f the city o f
Portland, it certainly leaves
doubts in my mind about the
direction they’re headed ”
H e cto r
d o e sn ’t
define the differences in
political terms.
“ I t ’s not about
liberals or conservatives,” he
said. “It’s about bureaucrats.
R unning g o v e rn m e n t is
d ifferen t than running a
business in the private sector,
and not one o f them has that
experience.”
Private-sector
option
T h a t’s why many
m ayors
and
co u n ty
co m m issio n ers in the
outlying counties favor an
ownership option designed
to create a publicly traded
utility such as P o rtlan d ’s
Northwest Natural Gas or
Washington’s Puget Sound
Energy.
U n d er
th at
a lte rn a tiv e , o u tlin e d in
E n ro n ’s
ap p ro v ed
b a n k ru p tc y plan, E nron
would issue new PGE stock
and d istrib u te sh ares to
creditors The stock would
be listed on a major stock
exchange.
P o r t l a n d
Commissioner Sten said he
d o e s n ’t find the sto ck -
distribution idea “inherently
b ad ,” but he sees public
ownership as the only sure
way to bring PGE under
local co n tro l so th at
customers, not investors, are
the main beneficiaries.
Naysayers become
believers, Sten said, when
they understand the steps
th a t w ould be tak en to
e n su re
reg io n al
representation and fair rates
across all customer classes.
“W hen we have a
clean shot to show people
what w e’re doing — our
motives, our aspirations, our
actual plan — we have a
stro n g p erc en ta g e o f
support.”
G ail K insey Hill:
5 0 3 - 2 2 1 - 8 5 9 0 ,
gailhill@news. oregonian. com
Healthy
Start
wants
to . help
you
•
‘l
•'. 1
"
to .
.
raise healthy, happy babies
H ealthy Start is a
free v o lu n ta ry pro g ram
through the Morrow County
H ealth D ep artm en t th at
assists first time parents in
giving th e ir n ew b o rn a
healthy start in life. Healthy
Start was established in 2002
in Morrow County. Last year
H ealth y S ta rt began a
re c e rtific a tio n p ro c e ss,
credentialing, which has
allowed the program and its
staff members to provide
more appropriate guidelines
and procedures that best
serve th e needs o f o u r
county residents.
How does Healthy
S tart w ork? C u rren tly
Healthy Start has two trained
home visitors who want to
reach out to every first time
parent in the county to join
the program mission, to give
our kids a jump start in life
and a healthy upbringing, by
providing ideas for quality
care, regular grow th and
developm ent m onitoring,
age appropriate activities,
b o o k s,
ed u catio n al
materials, etc. The program
s ta ff
p a rtic ip a te s
in
numerous trainings ongoing
so th at they are able to
p ro v id e
ed u cated
suggestions to new parents
in ord er for the child to
receiv e
th e
best
nourishment, best care and
attention at an early stage,
right when it is most essential
fo r healthy g ro w in g In
addition, the program uses
curriculum in which parents
have d irect access to
information that explains in
very simple language what
research ers and scientist
have found on brain
development and ways to
provide brain power to the
child
As a participant o f
healthy start, you receive
weekly visits from a trained
Fam ily S u p p o rt W orker
during the first six months.
This trained support worker
w ill p ro v id e you w ith
in fo rm atio n on w hat to
expect according to your
c h ild ’s age, ap p ro p ria te
a c tiv itie s and id eas to
enhance learning and skills,
and will provide you with
b o o k s and m aterials to
promote better parent/child
attachment and interaction.
As a participant you also get
connected to other agencies
and serv ice s in the
community and easy access
to Immunizations and family
planning needs.
What else is Healthy
Start doing? Early this year
the program partnered with
the Boardman Library and is
assisting with story hour by
p ro v id in g a B ilingual
Reading on Fridays at 10:30
a m In addition, look for its
p articip atio n in the fifth
M orrow County Children’s
Fair on May 12 at the Port
o f M orrow ; face painting
will be available in addition
to
g en eral
health
information This summer
we want to get going a bi
weekly play group where
moms can share common
interests, topics and ideas
about parenting, plus babies
socialize and learn to play as
a g ro u p ; look fo r m ore
details and sign up at the fair
o r by calling the H ealth
Department And if you are
interested in being part o f
Healthy Start call, 481-4200
or 676-5421.
WE
PR IN T
COMPUTERI
FORMS
Heppaer Gazette-
T ines
676 -9 2 2 8
1