LOCAL
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, ApRIL 10, 2019
Breaking down taxes in Umatilla, Morrow counties
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Umatilla and Morrow
counties share a border, a
community college system
and several state and fed-
eral representatives. When
it comes to taxes, the coun-
ties paint slightly different
pictures.
Despite the location of
several major businesses
and continued growth at the
Port of Morrow, Umatilla
County’s tax base is signifi-
cantly larger.
“Umatilla County has
a much higher value than
Morrow County,” said Mor-
row County assessor Mike
Gorman.
He noted the larger geo-
graphical size and the
higher population.
“There’s more homes,
there’s more stuff to tax,”
he said. “I think we’re about
half, maybe a little more, of
their value.”
But in terms of busi-
nesses contributing to the
county tax base, Morrow
County is outpacing Uma-
tilla County. Morrow Coun-
ty’s top taxpayer, Vadata,
Inc., pays $1.3 million
more in taxes than Uma-
tilla County’s top contrib-
utor, Hermiston Power
LLC. Vadata, a subsidi-
ary of Amazon, pays $4.72
million in taxes to Morrow
County in 2018. It was also
the second-highest taxpayer
in Umatilla County, paying
$3.1 million in taxes. Herm-
iston Power paid the most in
Umatilla County, contribut-
ing $3.3 million in taxes in
2018.
Other major taxpay-
ers in Morrow County are
Portland General Electric,
which paid $3.66 million in
2018, Avista Corporation,
which paid $3.58 million,
Threemile Canyon Farms,
which paid $2.4 million,
and Lamb Weston, which
paid $1.96 million.
In Umatilla County, other
top contributors in 2018
were Union Pacific, which
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Hermiston Generating Co. power plant on Westland Road had its assessed value lowered by $54 million by the Oregon
Department of Revenue in 2017 but was still one of the top taxpayers in Umatilla County
paid $2.2 million, Pacifi-
corp, which paid $2 million,
and Hermiston Generating
Company, which paid $1.4
million.
According to data pro-
vided by Gorman, Mor-
row County’s real mar-
ket value has increased by
about $3.7 billion in the
past 10 years. That increase,
he said, is mostly as a result
of new industrial develop-
ment and utility value. But
the assessed value, or tax-
able value, has increased
at a slower rate, by about
$1.1 billion. That’s because
many of those properties
have received tax exemp-
tions, either through Enter-
prise Zone agreements or
Strategic Investment Pro-
gram (SIP) agreements.
Additionally, a business
can stack its exemptions —
it can receive one for con-
structing a new building,
and a separate one, with a
different timeline, for pur-
chasing new equipment.
Gorman said while many
of the largest business con-
tributors receive major tax
exemptions when they first
locate in the area, some of
those exemptions are now
starting to expire.
“They don’t contribute
very much, while exempt,
in hard costs,” Gorman said.
“In soft costs maybe, like
donations to local charities.”
He said many enterprise
zone agreements include
language in their contracts
to encourage businesses to
support local interests.
Even with the exemp-
tions, he said, those busi-
nesses have a huge impact
on the county. About 25 per-
cent of the taxes levied go
to administering services
in the county like the sher-
iff’s office, the planning and
health departments, human
resources, part of the district
attorney’s office, and others,
Gorman said.
Umatilla County Asses-
sor Paul Chalmers said the
goal with offering exemp-
tions is to entice businesses
to locate in the area.
“Even if the benefit may
be deferred, it’s always
going to be beneficial,” he
said. He noted that in SIP
agreements, a certain por-
tion is set aside to go on tax
rolls each year during the
exemption.
“So it’s not a stagnant
number,” he said. “It gets
indexed.”
Chalmers
dismissed
the idea that the deferral
of taxes means those busi-
nesses aren’t contributing to
the county.
“Some folks are con-
cerned they’re not paying
their fair share, but at some
point they’re going to pay a
significant share,” he said.
Taxes to homeowners
Though Umatilla County
is larger by population and
area, the two counties have
a comparable average tax
rate. Umatilla County’s
City council to take a deeper look at EOTEC’s future
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
The Hermiston City
Council is hoping to see a
“reset” with its advisory
board for the Eastern Ore-
gon Trade and Event Center
as discussions about an RV
park and other future proj-
ects have gotten bogged
down.
“Initially the commit-
tee had good forward prog-
ress, but the last five or six
months it feels like we are
just spinning our wheels,”
said councilor John Kir-
wan, who is a council liai-
son to the committee.
During Monday’s city
council meeting, city man-
ager Byron Smith sug-
gested he discontinue his
position as the city’s staff
liaison to the committee
and instead send EOTEC
manager Al Davis. He also
suggested the city council
spend at least two upcom-
ing work sessions discuss-
ing a draft strategic plan
for EOTEC and adding lan-
guage that would give the
EOTEC advisory board
more clear direction for the
council’s “plan and vision.”
“Then the committee has
something to work from,”
he said.
The city planned to build
an RV park at EOTEC in
time for this year’s Uma-
tilla County Fair as a way to
bring in revenue year-round
to support the operation of
EOTEC. But stakeholders,
including the Farm-City
Pro Rodeo board, expressed
opposition to the proposed
location near the rodeo
arena, and the city’s plan-
ning commission put a halt
on any further construction
at EOTEC until the city
submits and gains approval
for a parking plan.
The city subsequently
submitted a parking plan at
the end of February, but it
was denied by the planning
commission after commis-
sion members expressed
concerns it would not ade-
quately serve the need for
parking during the fair and
rodeo.
In October the city
awarded a contract to Knerr
Construction of Hermiston
to design and build the RV
park and additional office
and storage space for Uma-
tilla County Fair staff. On
Monday Smith said the city
needed to consider coming
to an agreement with Knerr
to fairly compensate them
for their time so far and
then let them know that if
the city resumes the project
in the next few years they
would be re-hired.
He also said the city
should ask the EOTEC
advisory committee to
finalize a recommendation
for the location of the RV
park, which they have dis-
cussed in several meetings
but not come to an agree-
ment. Kirwan said he isn’t
even sure EOTEC’s stake-
holders want an RV park.
Councilors said they
supported the idea of hav-
ing Davis take over for
Smith on the advisory com-
mittee. Mayor David Drot-
zmann said he was con-
cerned at how much time
the city’s highest-paid
official was spending on
EOTEC when there were
larger city projects that also
needed his attention. Jackie
Myers said she felt the
EOTEC committee wasn’t
listening to Smith and was
getting “bogged down” as a
result.
“If Byron makes a sug-
gestion it doesn’t get very
far,” she said.
They also supported the
idea of discussing EOTEC’s
strategic plan and guidance
for the advisory commit-
tee during a work session
preceding their April 22
meeting.
Water leaks
On Monday the city
council also adopted a pol-
icy concerning water and
sewer leaks.
Assistant city man-
ager Mark Morgan said
recent increases in water
and sewer rates had caused
more complaints to city hall
and he felt it was important
to have a policy in place for
what happens when a leak
causes a resident to see a
huge spike in their bill.
He proposed the city
give a customer credit for
50 percent of the water
wasted for one billing cycle,
providing they could show
an invoice or other proof
they had resolved the prob-
lem within 30 days of being
notified. For example, if a
leak or burst pipe caused
a customer to use 20,000
gallons of water instead of
their usual 10,000 gallons,
they would get the cost of
5,000 gallons credited to
their next bill.
Several
councilors
shared their own experi-
ences with leaks. Myers
said a leak in an irriga-
tion pipe under her drive-
way caused an $800 bill
one month. Doug Primmer
said a leak at his house once
caused his family to use
250,000 gallons of water in
a winter. And Kirwan said
his dog once pulled down a
water stanchion and flooded
his yard with 15,000 gal-
lons of water.
Drotzmann was opposed
to the idea, pointing out that
the wasted water was still
a cost to the city’s utility
system.
“It wasn’t our fault, it
was you and your dog’s
fault, but we’re all paying
for it,” he said in response
to Kirwan’s story.
Lori Davis said it seemed
like a “nice thing to do” for
residents who might strug-
gle to pay and other coun-
cilors agreed, passing the
new policy unanimously.
Dawgs have a good showing at Dubsky Invite
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston finished eighth in the
team standings at the second annual
Joe Dubsky Invite on Monday at Sun
Willows Golf Course in Pasco, Wash.
There were 14 teams represented,
including all nine Mid-Columbia
Conference schools.
Mt. Spokane won the team title
with a 307, followed by Richland
(315) and Kamiakin (316). Hermiston
finished with a 360.
Gunnar Knutson of Mt. Spokane
took medalist honors with a 70, shoot-
ing an impressive 34 on the front nine
despite constant rain all day.
Carter Sheets of Richland, who
shot a 36 on the back nine, was sec-
ond with a 72.
Garrett McClanahan led the Bull-
dogs with an 82, followed by Cody
Hacker (88), Kaleb Crofton (92),
Ryne Andreason (98) and Ty Snyder
(130).
The Bulldogs will be back in
action Thursday at the Palouse Ridge
Invitational.
Joe Dubsky Invite at Sun Willows Golf Course
Teams scores — Mt. Spokane 307, Richland 315,
Kamiakin 316, Hanford 320, Kennewick 350, Mead
354, Southridge 359, Hermiston 360, Selah 365,
pasco 372, Walla Walla 378, Chiawana 383, Rogers
395, Wapato 427.
average property tax rate is
$14.15 per $1,000 assessed
value. Morrow Coun-
ty’s average rate is slightly
higher, at $14.83 per $1,000
assessed value.
But there’s a huge range
in both counties by code
area. A code area refers to
the specific taxing districts
serving each geographi-
cal area within the county.
Umatilla County has 151
code areas, and Morrow
County has 63. Tax rates
are higher in code areas
within incorporated cities,
because those places have
more services. Three code
areas in Umatilla County
tied for the highest tax rate,
all within the city of Herm-
iston. Those areas pay
$22.09 per $1,000 assessed
value. Unique costs in those
areas include city taxes, a
city bond, and the Hermis-
ton Urban Renewal District.
The lowest rate in Umatilla
County is an unincorporated
area near Ukiah, which pays
$9.84 per $1,000 assessed
value.
In Morrow County, the
highest rate is $25.06 per
$1,000 assessed value,
within the city of Heppner.
There, city taxes alone are
$10.62 per $1,000 assessed
value.
Because of Measure
5, passed in 1990, prop-
erty taxes in Oregon have
assigned rates and can’t
go above a certain amount
without being subject to
compression. For school
taxes, it’s $5 per $1,000,
and for city taxes it’s $10
per $1,000 assessed value.
Gorman said that despite
that, Heppner lobbied to
have a higher tax rate, but
they lose about as much
in compression as the city
of Boardman, which has a
rate of $19.71 per $1,000
assessed value.
“They lose almost the
exact same in compres-
sion, but the city of Board-
man collects a lot more in
dollars,” he said. That’s
because Boardman has
more commercial prop-
erty, and more people liv-
ing there.
Chalmers said because
of compression, without
new businesses coming in,
and without incentives like
the enterprise zones to bring
them there, schools and cit-
ies would not see additional
revenue streams.
“They would have to lay
people off,” he said. “The
property tax system in Ore-
gon is not fair or equitable.”
Gorman said it can be
misleading to look at county
taxes by their average rate,
as both have cities with a
huge range of services and
populations. But, he said,
overall they are similar
communities.
“Umatilla County has
some larger cities, but it’s
still a rural frame of mind,”
he said, citing the offerings
of each county, like librar-
ies and fire protection ser-
vices. “They kind of want
the same thing.”
Columbia Development
Authority board signs off on
cultural preservation agreement
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Columbia Development
Authority director Greg
Smith is optimistic about
a memorandum of under-
standing that the CDA board
has sent to the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation for review.
Getting approval for the
plan to mitigate for cultural,
historical and religiously
significant parts of the for-
mer Umatilla Chemical
Depot is the last major hur-
dle for transfer of the depot
to local control.
“We are really close,”
Smith said.
Transfer
has
been
delayed by several years as
the Columbia Development
Authority has negotiated
with the Army over every-
thing from the price (free)
to water rights and asbestos
cleanup.
The Oregon Military
Department has taken con-
trol of 7,500 acres for train-
ing purposes, but the bulk
of the land — including a
future wildlife preserve and
industrial land being eyed
by major corporations for
development — is still in
control of the Army.
For the past year the CDA
has worked to come up with
a required plan for preserva-
tion of culturally significant
resources, such as the por-
tions of the Oregon Trail that
run through the depot.
If the memorandum of
understanding approved by
the CDA board on Friday is
also approved by the tribes,
the State Historic Preserva-
tion Office and the Army’s
Base Re-alignment and Clo-
sure department, Smith said
the depot should essentially
be ready for transfer, minus
a few housekeeping items.
Smith said the deal would
transfer the northern section
of the former Oregon Trail
and another culturally sig-
nificant site to the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, while
the CDA would preserve a
southern part of the Oregon
Trail for visitors.
The southern section
would include a football
field-sized portion of the
trail for viewing, educa-
tional kiosks, parking and
picnic tables.
He said the plan would
not prevent the CDA from
opening up portions of the
depot to economic develop-
ment after the transfer.
“Land that has been des-
ignated industrial remains
industrial,” he said.
“In terms of having the
ability to develop the prop-
erty, nothing changes.”
Smith said the CTUIR
had been involved with the
drafting of the memorandum
of understanding — includ-
ing using their attorney as
a scribe — and so he was
“optimistic” that their board
would sign off on the “win-
win” agreement.
He said he also thought
it likely that the appropriate
state and federal agencies
would approve the locally
negotiated agreement.