A hard-hitting dilemma
Monday, June 30, 2008 12:05 PM PDT
A governor’s task force issued a 122-page report Monday surveying the problems created by Congress’ failure to renew payments to counties that once depended on federal timber revenues. The findings can be summarized as follows: 1) The counties are in really, really deep trouble. 2) There’s no easy or adequate substitute for federal payments.
People in Lane, Douglas, Coos and other counties where untaxed federal forests cover half or more of the land know those things already. But the task force may succeed in conveying the message to a broader audience. The portion of the federal payments that goes to public school districts, for example, will result in a reduction of $58 per student throughout Oregon — the equivalent of 165 teachers in the three Portland area counties where people have had the luxury of regarding the loss of timber revenues as a downstate issue.
The effects on schools, though significant, are only one aspect of the crisis being inflicted on counties and far from the worst one. Schools stand to lose $34 million if the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is not renewed. Counties stand to lose $223 million. The task force found that 24 of Oregon’s 36 counties will be hard-hit by the loss of federal payments, and nine will suffer reductions of 20 percent or more in their general fund budgets.
“A sudden loss of existing safety net payments will not be manageable,” the task force warned. Among its recommendations is that the Legislature create a legal framework for a state takeover of counties that find themselves without the resources to meet their legal and financial obligations.
It’s not just that counties are heading for hard times. A few of them might cease to exist as local governments.
The task force’s first recommendation is that Congress renew the payments to counties for four years, noting that, “The looming crisis is avoidable only with a temporary reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools payments.” That’s what county officials have been saying — shouting — all along, to no avail. Even a one-year renewal appears to have little chance in Congress.
If counties are forced to adapt to a loss of federal payments, the task force recommends local property tax levies and a long list of increases in state support for county services. After adding up the revenue and savings from these recommendations, however, the task force concluded that “the best efforts of Oregon counties, state government and local and state taxpayers are not likely to solve more than 20 percent to 30 percent of the financial crisis that will be caused by the loss of Secure Rural Schools payments.” The task force also recommends ramped-up federal timber harvests and other changes in forest policy steps that might reduce the shortfall by an additional 15 percent.
That’s not enough to make up half of the losses. Even that limited response would require enlisting the support of voters, the Legislature and Congress. It’s a calamity, and people far beyond the affected counties will feel the effects.
— The (Eugene) Register-Guard
