A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015
LOCAL WEATHER
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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.
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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
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