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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 LOCAL WEATHER +HUPLVWRQRI¿FLDOVSODQWR renew state zone designation intended to attract employers BY SEAN HART HERMISTON HERALD The Hermiston Enter- prise Zone designation is set to expire this year, but city officials hope to renew the state program that aims to attract new employers through tem- porary property tax abate- ment. Hermiston Assistant City Manager and zone manager Mark Morgan said the economic devel- opment program expires June 30, but he is hopeful the HEZ will be renewed for another 10-year term. A public meeting about the zone and renewal pro- cess will take place at 3 p.m. Friday at the Herm- iston Conference Center. “Ultimately, what the enterprise zone exists to do is to incentivize man- ufacturing employers, largely, into an area,” Morgan said. “The inten- tion of the program is to attract these employers to the area so that once that exemption expires, you not only have these jobs in the area, you theoret- ically have a large invest- ment in the area that will pay property Morgan taxes.” Morgan said the basic exemption from property taxes, such as those levied by cities, counties, ports and school districts, lasts for three years for qualifying proj- ects, but if an employer creates new jobs with an average wage at least 150 percent of the Umatilla County average wage, ap- proximately $53,000, the exemption can be extend- ed up to five years. From 2004 to 2013, Morgan said qualifying projects in the HEZ ac- counted for 243 new jobs, an annual payroll of $7.2 million and $79.5 million in new investment. He said the zone includes all the property within the city limits and also the Shearer’s Snacks prop- erty. The totals through 2013 do not include an- other $3.5 million ex- pansion at Shearer’s last year, which added about 35 additional jobs. Mor- gan said Shearer’s and DuPont Pioneer have utilized the program for three different expansions each. Morgan said some peo- ple may think it would be better to require these busi- nesses to pay the property taxes without the temporary exemption, but there is no guarantee the businesses would have expanded local- ly without the exemptions. This year, Morgan said a five-year exemption on a $35 million expansion at DuPont Pioneer will expire, and the property value will be added to the city’s tax roll. He said the assessed value would be different than the project cost, but the amount col- lected by the city will be significant. As a rough estimate, he said a $30 million increase in prop- erty values would lead to $180,000 in new general fund revenue for the city of Hermiston each year. Corrections It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories. Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report errors. For Herald news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • email info @hermistonherald.com • stop by our offices at 333 E. Main St. • or visit us online at www.hermistonherald.com Today's Weather Local 5-Day Forecast Wed Thu 2/18 Fri 2/19 59/36 57/37 Sun 2/21 56/34 2/22 54/30 50/27 Except for a few af- ternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 59F. Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 50s and lows in the upper 30s. Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 30s. Sunny. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the low 30s. Mainly sunny. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 20s. Sunrise Sunset 6:54 AM 5:28 PM Sunrise Sunset 6:53 AM 5:29 PM Sunrise Sunset 6:51 AM 5:30 PM Sunrise Sunset 6:49 AM 5:32 PM Sunrise Sunset 6:48 AM 5:33 PM Oregon At A Glance Pendleton 57/37 Hermiston 59/36 Portland 59/45 Salem 59/42 La Grande 59/35 Bend 56/27 Eugene 56/41 Ontario 58/34 Burns 60/33 Medford 62/38 Klamath Falls 63/33 Area Cities City Albany Ashland Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Eugene Hi 58 64 55 56 56 59 60 57 58 56 Lo 43 38 45 31 27 44 33 46 44 41 Cond. cloudy mst sunny cloudy mst sunny mst sunny pt sunny sunny pt sunny pt sunny pt sunny City Florence Grants Pass Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Lakeview Lincoln City Mcminnville Medford Hi 56 62 59 60 63 59 63 55 58 62 Lo 45 39 36 36 33 35 31 48 43 38 Cond. cloudy mst sunny mst sunny mst sunny sunny mst sunny sunny cloudy pt sunny mst sunny Cond. windy cloudy windy sunny sunny City Houston Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis New York Hi 66 73 71 4 32 Lo Cond. 43 sunny 55 sunny 48 rain -15 pt sunny 18 cloudy City Newport Pendleton Portland Redmond Roseburg Salem Springfield The Dalles Tillamook Vale Hi 55 57 59 63 60 59 58 61 56 58 Lo 46 37 45 30 43 42 39 41 46 36 Cond. cloudy mst sunny cloudy mst sunny pt sunny pt sunny pt sunny pt sunny cloudy sunny City Phoenix San Francisco Seattle St. Louis Washington, DC Hi 78 66 56 13 36 Lo 52 52 47 -2 8 Cond. sunny pt sunny cloudy windy sn shower National Cities City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Hi 40 30 9 59 50 Lo 10 17 -9 32 28 Moon Phases UV Index Wed Last New First Full Feb 12 Feb 18 Feb 25 Mar 5 ©2010 American Profile Hometown Content Service NW FARM SUPPLY Sat 2/20 Thu Fri Sat Sun 2/18 2/19 2/20 2/21 2/22 2 Low 2 Low 2 Low 2 Low 2 Low The UV Index is measured on a 0 - 11 number scale, with a higher UV Index showing the need for greater skin protection. 0 11 What can we build for you? 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