Re-authorization of federal timber dollars, included in the Iraq war spending bill, was passed by Congress on Thursday and signed by President George W. Bush on Friday. The funding will provide Lane County with $47 million, and save 250 county employee positions from being cut this summer.
Although the money will provide a reprieve for county budget members, it will only last one year.
“The work to secure a long-term extension and re-authorization of these funds must continue,” Congressman Greg Walden said on the House floor. “I will not give up. I will not quit. I will not rest. The Congress will be forced to address this issue over and over and over again until we reach agreement on a long-term solution.”
Lane County officials still need to create a budget by the June 30 deadline that meets the approval of a host of individual interests, and that deadline has raised panic about public safety, misuse of county funds and possible pink slips for hundreds of county employees. At the same time, the failed county income tax leaves an even bigger uncertainty of where to turn for future funds.
The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS) was an extension of payments to counties hurt by the decline in logging revenue. The funding ceased in 2006 and many states and counties have scrambled to find alternative sources of income.
Oregon’s schools and counties received more than 54 percent of the national total of these payments and 33 of Oregon’s 36 counties rely on the federal funding.
Lane County’s general fund allocates money for various services, one of which is public safety. The fund receives 35 percent of its revenue from the SRS and with the suspected loss of money, the Sheriff’s Office, Youth Services and Health and Human Services were expected to suffer substantial cuts to their programs, compromising safety in the county.
Congressmen Walden and Peter DeFazio have been working for a multi-year extension of federal funds and introduced H.R. 17, a bill to re-authorize county payments for seven years, on the first day of the current legislative session.
The bill has 127 co-sponsors in the House, but it has not seen any major action since early February.
With the first session of Congress closing in October, many are doubtful any action will take place until the second session commences in January 2008, six months before a new Lane County budget will need to be completed.
“Two months ago a one-year extension for county payments seemed completely out of the question,” Congressman Walden said. “Would I have rather had a multi-year extension? Of course.”
A measure that would have supplemented the general fund’s loss of SRS payments was voted down by 71 percent when Lane County voters gave an overwhelming refusal for an income tax earlier this month. County commissioners expressed their doubts that a new measure could be passed by county residents as the last two ballot measures for an income tax failed.
“Given the defeat of local tax measures around the state last week, it’s clear that rural counties need this assistance more than ever,” Congressman DeFazio said in a press release. “This funding will help stave-off some of the layoffs and cuts in critical services like law-enforcement and health care, and prevent the state from having to take over those essential services, while we continue to work together on a longer-term solution.”
That solution does not rest in the hands of federal legislators, some argue. Members of the political action committee that led the charge against the income tax, “We said No,” said the county budget committee has sufficient money to fund all of the necessary programs to keep the county residents safe, but spending needs to be redirected and funds allocated properly.
Another local solution is an increase in the county property tax.
Lane County’s tax rate is 40-50 percent lower than directly comparable counties, and it was at the very bottom of Oregon’s 36 counties as far as overall tax rate is concerned, a budget report stated.
The decline in revenue for the general fund is nothing new to the budget committee as 12 of the last 15 years have seen budget cuts at an annual average reduction of $1.2 million.
The SRS Act was mandated to end in 2006 and county commissioners have been aware of its cessation from the moment of its conception.
With these three factors, many believe the county budget committee and commissioners, while well-aware of the past, have the responsibility to work toward a stable plan for the future. But one source inside the state legislature said that is like “looking into the crystal ball for an answer nobody has.”
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