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Rep.
Richardson's March 16, 2007 Update
O & C County Funding Crisis
The loss of federal timber replacement revenues (which for convenience I will group together and refer to as "O & C funds"), to 33 Oregon counties is both imminent and catastrophic.*It is not being melodramatic to say more than one Oregon county faces shutting off their lights, closing their doors, and ceasing to exist by year’s end, unless the timber replacement revenue issues are resolved.
Consider the following: 68% of Josephine County’s General Fund revenues depend on federal timber replacement money; for Douglas County 69% and for Curry County 63% of their G.F. revenues come from federal payments. The federal timber replacement payments are scheduled to end by July 1st and Oregon's timber counties are in jeopardy.For a quick summary of the affects on some Oregon counties of losing just the O & C timber replacement revenues, consider the following:
For the last half of the 20th century, 33 Oregon counties depended on O & C and other timber replacement revenues that resulted from the O & C Act and other federal programs and agreements. These federal payments became the mainstay for funding rural Oregon’s public schools, roads, and other vital public services. During the 1980’s and 90’s timber revenues were sharply curtailed as a result of federal court rulings—originating with the Spotted Owl’s listing as an endangered species. Hundreds of Oregon lumber mills closed as rural communities lost access to the economic resources generated by harvesting, hauling and milling timber from the federal O & C and other timber lands. To temporarily alleviate the financial devastation caused to Oregon counties by the loss of timber replacement revenues, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-393). This Act provided “safety-net” payments to timber counties until its sunset on December 31, 2006. The Act has not been renewed and its payments will end on June 30, 2007. (Currently, there is a rider to a Congressional budget bill that would extend the safety net funding for one year, President Bush has announced his intention to veto the entire bill for reasons not related to the safety net funding rider.) According to the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC), the Oregon timber counties will lose approximately $460 million that is needed to fund essential county services over the 2007-09 biennium. The consequences of losing $460 million from rural Oregon county economies are far-reaching. Hundreds of public and private sector jobs will be cut, which will result in the loss of many more jobs in related service, supply and support industries. If this occurs, the affected counties will be thrown into severe economic recession and the resulting demand for state funded programs and services will spiral upward. To put into perspective what the loss of these funds will mean to average citizens, I called a Josephine County Commissioner and asked what the loss of O & C replacement funds is likely to mean for Jo. County. The Commissioner said Josephine County is preparing for the initial loss of the federal funds. In recent years it has created a contingency fund of about $5 million. If the O & C replacement funds end in June of this year, cuts will begin and continue over the last half of the year. Assuming the federal payments will not be extended, Josephine County voters will determine whether or not the cuts in county services will be required. The Commissioners have placed a levy on the May ballot that would quadruple the county’s portion of the real property tax from $.58 per thousand to nearly $2.50 per thousand dollars of assessed value. If the May levy fails, a second levy will be attempted in September. If both levy attempts fail, by the end of 2007 the Commissioner expects the following list of cuts may need to be implemented:
The root of the problem stems from the federal government’s control of 57% of Oregon land--of which 2,651,771 acres are O & C lands. How the Feds obtained such large tracts of Oregon’s land mass is not important. What is important is the recognition that rural Oregon’s prosperity has always depended on effective and productive management of our natural resources. Timber was to rural Oregon communities what corn is to Iowa. For more than a century Oregon's timber counties relied on timber-related jobs for their economy, supplemented for decades by federal timber payments. Now both are gone. It appears the federal government is not able to effectively, efficiently and economically manage Oregon’s forests in a sustainable manner. If the federal government is incapable of managing Oregon’s forests and unable to generate a reasonable amount of timber replacement revenues, maybe it is time for the federal government to relinquish control over Oregon’s forest lands. The State of Oregon is ready, willing and able to assume from the federal government full responsibility for Oregon timber lands and forests. The devastating forest fires that needlessly consumed thousands of acres and billions of dollars of prime timber just a few years ago, taught Oregon an important lesson. Proper forest management does not mean ignoring our forests. Oregon foresters understand the principles of sustainable forest management. Now is the time—before our Oregon's timber counties become insolvent—for Oregonians to wake up, stand up and demand state control of Oregon forests. The federal government is immersed in foreign quagmires and cares nothing about Oregon’s rural county economies. Oregon natural resources should be under Oregon control and management. How long will we endure having our fellow Oregonians in rural counties grovel at the feet of impotent federal bureaucrats, begging for a continuing federal hand-out, while Oregon forests become tender-boxes awaiting the next summer conflagration. I, for one, want our forests back now. Sincerely, Richardson to Attend Videoconference in Grants Pass this AfternoonThe House Health Care Committee will hold a videoconference this afternoon, Friday, March 16, 2007 from 3 to 6 p.m. to discuss rural health issues. Representatives Ron Maurer and Dennis Richardson, members of the Health Care Committee, will be in attendance at the Redwood Campus of Rogue Community College in Grants Pass, one of the videoconference sites. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in this “town hall” meeting to discuss health issues unique to rural Oregon.The Grants Pass meeting will take place in Choates Hall, Room 10 at the Redwood Campus located at 3345 Redwood Highway. A map of the campus is available online. Those who are unable to attend the discussion in Grants Pass can watch the hearing online. Other videoconference sites include Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Eastern Oregon University in Le Grande, Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles, Southwest Community College in Coos Bay and Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls.
As a lifelong resident of Medford and former City Councilman, Representative Sal Esquivel knows House District 6 intimately. After graduating from Medford High School, Representative Esquivel joined the Navy and served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970.
Returning from military service, Representative Esquivel attended Southern Oregon College (now Southern Oregon University) and entered the business world starting a company that sold heavy equipment and parts. Now, he and his wife, Jan, run a successful real estate business.Representative Esquivel served for over 7 years on the Medford City Council. He also served in leadership positions with Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc. (SOREDI) and various other community and civic organizations. In March of 2003, Esquivel was appointed to replace Senator Lenn Hannon to represent District 3 in the State Senate. He served for over a year and a half before running for House District 6 where he is serving in his second term. |
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