Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 25, 2020 -- THREE
Amazon still county’s top taxpayer at $9.4 million
Total county assessed valuation up 163 percent over 15 years
By David Sykes
With its string of server
farms constructed in the
Boardman area over the
past several years, Amazon
still remains Morrow Coun-
ty’s top property taxpayer,
eclipsing all others to the
tune of $9,381,154 paid this
year. The next biggest payer
is Avista Corp, operator of
the gas-powered electrical
generating plant at Board-
man, which wrote a check
for “only” $3,625,850 this
year.
Rounding out the coun-
ty’s other top tax payers are
Portland General Electric
at $3.3 million, Threemile
Canyon Farms at almost
$3 million, Lamb Weston
food processing at the Port
of Morrow paying nearly
$2 million in taxes, and
Tillamook Cheese whey
plant (Columbia River
Processing) coming in at
$768,0000. See table below
for the top 20 property tax-
payers in Morrow County.
The tax information
was presented to the Mor-
row County Commissioners
at their Nov. 12 meeting in
a power point presentation
by County Assessor Mike
Gorman. “We’ve grown
substantially in the last 15
years,” Gorman told the
commissioners.
Gorman also showed
how the county’s total as-
sessed valuation (the values
used to figure how much
taxes will be paid) has in-
creased significantly over
the past 15 years from a lit-
tle over one billion dollars
in 2005 to over $2.7 billion
in 2020, an increase of 163
percent. The real market
value, a valuation higher
than assessed value, and
representing a more realis-
tic picture of the county’s
property worth, stands at
a whopping $6.4 billion,
up 437 percent since 2005.
All the increased valua-
tion means the county now
collects 126 percent more
property taxes than in 2005.
The increased valua-
tions generated over $41.5
million in tax money for all
taxing districts in the coun-
ty including schools, cities,
health district, county, etc.,
up from only $18.4 in total
taxes collected in 2005.
Morrow County govern-
ment received $11 million
of the total tax money this
year.
Handling much of the
increased tax income has
been the Columbia River
Enterprise Zone II, which
gives tax breaks to busi-
nesses building or expand-
ing in the zone mainly at
Above are the top 20 taxpayers in the county.
Instead of program,
students send cards
to local veterans
Because of the COVID
restrictions against gather-
ings and holding classes,
Heppner High School did
not hold its annual Veterans
Day Program this year.
For many years the
students and staff would
invite local veterans up to
the school to first go into the
classrooms and speak to the
students about their experi-
ences in the military, then to
a program in the gym with
speakers and a slide show
of all the veteran’s pictures.
Students would sing patri-
otic songs, and taps would
be played before the veter-
ans were treated to a lunch
in the school cafeteria. The
program is always extreme-
ly popular and anticipated
by local veterans.
This year because of
COVID the program was
cancelled, however stu-
dents did the next best thing
and sent veterans a personal
card with a handwritten
message thanking them for
their service. “That was
very nice of them,” one
local veteran said about his
card. “I missed the program
but was very happy to get
my card,” he added.
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the Port of Morrow near
Boardman. For example,
Amazon will pay the CREZ
II approximately $8 mil-
lion this year for its four
server farms located near
Boardman. The company
received a 79 percent tax
exemption on the server
facilities, or an almost $40
million break if it had been
taxed at the full county
rate. See below table for a
breakdown of each server
farm location and its taxes
and exemption rate.
He said the only way to
know what Amazon’s true
tax reduction percentage
is, will be to wait until all
the tax exemption contracts
with CREZ expire and then
do a final analysis.
Other businesses re-
ceiving tax breaks from
the CREZ II include Lamb
Weston and Columbia Riv-
er Processing (Tillamook
Cheese). See table below.
The Columbia River
Enterprise Zone II (CRE-
ZII) expired in June after
Above is the amount of tax money each Amazon server facility
pays this year and how much the company is exempted from
paying
Gorman cautioned
against picking the 79 per-
cent tax exemption out as
the permanent Amazon tax
reduction rate. This year’s
exemption will not remain
the same over the years,
Gorman said, explaining
that the reduction rate varies
from year to year with some
years the company paying
more than the regular tax
rate at one of its facilities.
a 10-year run. However, it
will continue to generate
millions of tax collection
dollars, and tax exemp-
tions too, into the future
from agreements already
in place. How the CREZII
millions have, and will
continue to be spent around
the county, is decided by
a six-member board made
up of two representatives
each from the port, county
Enterprise zone payments from Tillamook Cheese (Columbia
River Technologies) and Boardman food processor Lamb
Weston
and city of Boardman. The
members have a wide lat-
itude on how to spend the
funds, and in the past have
used four broad catego-
ries of education, housing,
community enhancement
and public safety on where
to allocate the money. The
county and the port are
currently in negotiations
hammering out the operat-
ing rules on a new CREZIII
to take its place.
Enterprise zones are
an especially important
recruitment tool used by
the Port of Morrow to offer
tax breaks and attract new
businesses into the area.
The tax breaks have also
been used by existing busi-
nesses for expansion at the
Port, and has been used by
the Morrow County Grain
Growers for its rail grain
car unloading facility at the
Port of Morrow, for which it
started receiving a $94,969
exemption this year on a $7
million investment.
Another tax abatement
tool used in the county is
the Strategic Investment
Program, SIP, used main-
ly for the big renewable
energy projects such as
wind and solar coming
into the county. Money
collected through the SIP
agreements comes through
the county budgeting pro-
cess, with some money
divided amongst various
taxing districts such as the
schools, and a portion going
into the county budget. For
example, the first big wind
project in Morrow County
was Shepherd’s Flat. Its
2020 SIP payment is about
$1.7 million which is divid-
ed amongst various taxing
districts and the county.
Shepherd’s Flat receives a
“We’ve grown substantially,”
says Morrow County Assessor
Mike Gorman.
$3 million tax exemption
from its SIP agreement and
has six years remaining.
PGE’s Carty Gas Co-
Gen Plant has a SIP pay-
ment this year of $2.3 mil-
lion with about $6.7 million
in exempted tax payments.
There are two other smaller
energy projects, Willow
Creek Energy and Echo
Winds, also receiving SIP
tax reductions on a smaller
scale. Those SIP agreements
and projects are shared with
Gilliam and Umatilla coun-
ties, respectively.
With the construction
of the new Wheatridge
wind and solar facility now
up and running, next year
will see even more SIP
money begin coming into
the county. And develop-
ment shows no sign of
slowing down either. With
the announcement of a
planned new 5,000 acre
solar facility in the coun-
ty, and Amazon currently
constructing a new server
farm at Boardman, and
making plans for smaller
data facilities tucked be-
tween its existing facilities,
how much more future tax
money will be generated in
Morrow County is at this
time unknown.
Sheriff’s Report
The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office has released the following information:
August 28 (cont.):
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office received a report at
Boardman Select Market
on Main St S, Boardman of
a 36yo male unresponsive,
foaming at the mouth. Pa-
tient transported to GSH.
-MCSO received a re-
port on I 84 E, Boardman
of a ladder in the middle of
the road.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Irrigon Skate Park on
NE Main Ave, Irrigon that
a husky is running around.
Owner was located and dog
was returned.
-MCSO received a re-
port at Heppner Shell Sta-
tion on N Main St, Heppner
that a male subject is caus-
ing issues and needs to be
trespassed.
-MCSO received a
report at Willow Creek
Campground on Willow
Creek Rd, Heppner that
gold SUV is driving the
road behind his house serv-
er times going really fast.
Deputy made contact with
the driver and he will slow
his vehicle.
-MCSO received a re-
port on I 84 E, Boardman
that a red SUV is unable
to maintain lane. Afraid to
pass.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Kunze Ln, Board-
man of loud music a couple
blocks away. Deputy made
contact with residence with
the music and advised them
to turn it down.
August 29: Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office re-
ceived a report on I 84 W,
Boardman of tire debris on
the roadway. Hazard was
removed.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Gale St, Heppner
that last night he had cans
stolen.
-MCSO received a re-
port on I 84 E, Boardman
of a grey Toyota Tacoma
all over the road. Referred
to other agency.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Hwy 207 Echo,
Lexington that a motorcy-
clist went off the road. They
are somewhat blocking.
Patient refusal.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Hwy 207 Echo,
Lexington that there is a
large piece of metal blow-
ing on the road. RP is wor-
ried that it will hit a car or
cause an accident.
-MCSO received a re-
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri-
gon that a dark grey Jeep
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Cherokee sped towards
Tenth. Unable to locate.
-MCSO received a re-
port on Hwy 207 Spray,
Heppner that there is a male
on the side of the road, not
vehicle around. RP found
this suspicious. Cancelled,
male was ok.
-MCSO received a re-
port on SE Utah Ave, Irri-
gon that a two-door dark
green Lexus is driving fast
up and down Utah, doing
California stops at the stop
signs. Unable to locate.
-MCSO received a re-
port that Patrick Wayne
Tedrick was arrested by
UPD on MC warrant.
-MCSO received a re-
port on SW Second St,
Irrigon that there was a dog
fight in her yard. Her dog is
mildly injured and the other
dog is seriously injured.
Continued on page five...
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