RoguePundit

Different Smokes

Many of the folks who are campaigning against the burning of grass fields in Oregon highlight the fact that our neighbors in California, Idaho, and Washington have outlawed it.  Despite such legislation...

In California, straw burning was outlawed, unless there are specific problems such as stem rust. Because stem rust is a problem there, California continues to burn as much as in the past.

In Washington State, when burning grass seed fields was outlawed, but wheat wasn't, the growers just switched their crops to wheat and burn 150,000 acres each year.

Idaho faced lawsuits over burning fields, but has reached a deal that allows burning to continue.

In the '80s, grass farmers burned as many as 250,000 acres in Oregon.  Nowadays, the average is about 50,000 acres.  However, quite a bit of that burning is fairly near population centers, and it bothers some people.   

The Willamette Valley farmers had voluntarily promised not to burn their fields during the Olympic Track and Field trials so that athletes would have better air quality conditions.

Unfortunately, now these farmers will face even greater hurdles.

Instead of appreciating what the farmers offered, environmentalists are eagerly lining up lawyers to race after farmers to quit burning fields completely.

Most farmers don't start burning their grass fields until at least July, so this wasn't much of a sacrifice. 

During the Trials, smoke from forest fires in the region blew into the valley, making the air quality worse than it normally is when fields are burning (but better than the athletes can probably expect in China next month).  Unsurprisingly, several folks called the ODA to gripe about the smoke from burning fields.  When you see activists and politicians quoting statistics regarding the number of complaints about field burning, remember that those ignorant complaints count.  And if you're a smoker who's griping about the smoke, I know a great way of addressing that air quality problem...

"It's not fair to protect only elite athletes," Charlie Tebbutt, staff attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center in Eugene, said in an Associated Press story, when he demanded the burn ban year-round. "Those of us who live here the rest of the time deserve the same protection."

As I've said many times, there's no point in negotiating with zealots, because they have no interest in living with compromise.  

There aren't particularly good alternatives to field burning.  Most of them are involve more cost and the use of more chemicals, fertilizers, and fossil fuels.  It's a value judgment whether that's an improvement or not.  Same goes for if its preferable for those increased costs drive some of the grass farming out of the state.  But who needs to worry about the farmers because they can just switch crops, right?  That's obviously a wee simplistic.   

Opposition to field burning is NIMBYism that sometimes comes with a hypocritical twist.  If thousands of acres of fields burn, that's bad because it causes pollution.  However, if hundreds of thousands of acres of trees burn, that's okay because it's natural?  

State Rep. Paul Holvey (D-Eugene) has been trying to get field burning banned because of the health risks from the smoke.  He also claims that it contributes to global warming.  If he actually believes what he says, why isn't he jumping up and down about making our forests more fire-safe?  

Benefiting from Belt-Tightening

On Wednesday, an editorial in the Roseburg News-Review rightfully praised some folks in Douglas County for their efforts to keep a few county parks open.

Several county parks that had been slated for closure were saved at the 11th hour by a combination of volunteers who selflessly came forward to help, and by outsourcing maintenance services to a company that is able to provide upkeep a little cheaper than the county.

Iverson Memorial Park on Coos Bay Wagon Road in the Callahans, Cavitt Creek Park and North Myrtle Park east of Myrtle Creek — all due to close at the end of June — will now have volunteers mow the grass and perform other light maintenance duties. Groups of citizens in each of those areas contacted Parks Director Jim Dowd and offered to help. We appreciate their efforts.

And High Lakes Sanitation of Idleyld Park has begun emptying trash, picking up litter outside buildings and restocking toilet paper and paper towels at several parks outside Glide.

The company is being paid $10,000 a year, less than the $12,000 it cost to send a parks employee and truck over the same route two days a week.

I wonder how those folks feel now.

After trimming Douglas County’s budget by $8.4 million and cutting 59 positions due to a revenue shortfall caused by the loss of the federal timber safety net, commissioners said Wednesday they will look at boosting the county’s salary schedule.

With fewer employees, the county will expect some of those who remain to do more work. To prevent having those workers leave for other jobs, the commissioners said they have to make sure that their employees are fairly compensated.

“We’re going to start losing people. We already have,” Commissioner Doug Robertson said. “We’re also going to find it harder to attract qualified people.”

How many things are wrong with that logic?  In a weak economy, it should be easier to find qualified folks for most jobs.  Why offer more pay unless there's actually a problem finding qualified folks, especially when the job benefits are so good?  And speaking of that, it's a red flag whenever government employees resort to emotional appeals like "fair" compensation...they know they're doing well compared to the private sector.  

However, the issue of job security in the face of a declining budget is a valid concern.  For instance, our JoCo Sheriff's Office struggles to attract and retain deputies because they're worried about looming budget cuts and know that the City of Grants Pass pays better and offers more stability.  But if county leadership provides a generous pay increase, there's a significant risk of alienating an already tax-shy public, whose votes are needed to avoid those budget cuts. 

And in a related thought, that 26 percent pay increase the Jackson County Commissioners recently gave themselves was horrifically irresponsible.  Anyway...    

Robertson suggested the commissioners start by looking to make adjustments in the salary range for workers whose salaries are 10 percent less or lower than comparable jobs in private industry in the Roseburg area.

The county uses a 15-step salary schedule. As workers gain new skills and responsibilities and develop more seniority, they rise on the schedule. Each step contains a salary that is higher than the step below.

Rosemarie Wess, the county’s human resources director, said a revamped salary schedule with 20 steps could be used to reward workers who are asked to take on added responsibilities. It could also benefit those who have fallen behind in their salaries when compared with private business.

No, salary should never be addressed separately.  Use the bottom line--total compensation--to make the comparisons.  

Changing the steps in the salary schedule is a great way of muddying the compensation waters.  The headline pay raise can look reasonable while part of the increase is hidden within the steps.  You can shorten the time between steps, give everyone an extra step, on and on.

Robertson said department heads would still have to work through their existing budgets to add in any salary increases. Additional money would not be available from the county’s general fund to pick up the added costs.

Thus, salary increases will be funded by more reductions in service?  Great.  

Our Shrinking General Fund (Updated)

JoCo's general fund, sans the many pass-throughs from the state and feds, has been trending downward over the past few years.

The county's 2007-08 budget was $29.5 million, boosted by a last-minute extension of $12 million in federal funding it received in lieu of timber receipts, called county payments. Congress has yet to decide if it will renew the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act one more time.

Last year, the county banked $9.4 million of that money so it would have enough to fund public safety operations--Juvenile Justice Division, the Sheriff's and District Attorney's offices--in 2008-09, the fiscal year that starts on July 1.

Despite the fact that the majority of the last timber payment was put away for this rainy day, the JoCo budget is dropping about $4.3 million next fiscal year.  I know that the county spent some of its reserves in this year's budget, but that doesn't explain the entire difference.  So rarely is the math clearly laid out in these types of articles...but the county's budget process certainly doesn't make it easy.

The Sheriff's Office proposed budget is $8.9 million, which would pay for an estimated staff of 78 people. Currently, there are only 16 patrol deputies. Jail capacity, which is a maximum of 262 inmates, currently houses 105 people. Forty-two deputies staff it. Administrative staff, clerks, marine and forest patrol officers make up the difference.

...

The Budget Committee supplemented the Sheriff's Office budget by about $900,000 by taking $200,000 away from a grant that was to be used to help reopen local libraries. The rest of the money was taken from the county's contingency for 2009-10. Commissioner Dave Toler said the decision could have dangerous consequences since the contingency will fall to about $2.3 million. He worries that may not be enough to sustain operations until taxes are collected in November.

$200,000?  The county commissioners promised to match $300,000 in donations, $75,000 of which was from the library trust fund (previous blog here).  Anyway, with our dire budgetary situation, our county leadership was irresponsible in promising that grant money in the first place.  

I'm sure this won't help the library fundraising efforts.  And speaking of those, why hasn't Josephine Community Libraries, Inc. put up something like United Way thermometer graphics in easily-noticeable places (including its website) to remind folks of the goal and how it's going?  

Going back to an article from earlier in the month on the proposed two-tier levy for the Sheriff's Office (previous blog here)...

The Sheriff's Office total proposed budget for 2008-09 is $8.9 million. It is expected to receive $6.7 million from county reserves. It will receive about $500,000 from state rental of jail beds, $700,000 from federal rental of beds, $300,000 from Title III federal funding for Search and Rescue. The balance comes from contracts, grants and fees.

...

Watkins said county legal counsel determined Oregon statutes prohibit including the District Attorney's Office and Juvenile Justice in the proposed taxing districts, because they are considered "criminal justice" and not "law enforcement." Commissioner Dave Toler feels the county can support those departments without county payments, but said it has no way to make up for the millions of dollars it gives to the Sheriff's Office.

So if we'd approved the public safety levy last year, would it have been illegal? 

The two-tier levy would bring in $8.9 million in property taxes its first year, allowing the Sheriff's Office to restore some of the services that have been cut in recent years.  It doesn't help that the folks in Grants Pass are going to also be voting on a renewal of their public safety measure (police and fire) that will cost $1.89 per $1,000 rather than the current $1.49.  That's almost a 27 percent increase over four years.

The county desperately needs some leadership besides the Sheriff to help market the two-tier levy.

Update:  On Monday (June 23), the Daily Courier published this correction to the original article.

CARRYOVER OMITTED. A pie chart of the proposed Josephine County budget that appeared in Saturday's paper did not include carryover from fiscal year 2007-08 or departments in the internal services fund, which pays expenses for the county commissioners, Finance and Property Management departments, among others. The county's $11.2 million general fund includes the $3.7 million in ISF money and about $2 million in carryover. The total proposed budget is $25.1 million, comprised of the $11.2 million general fund, $13.2 million public safety fund and $700,000 from reserves. The Daily Courier regrets the error.

 

Improving Care for Uninsured Oregonians

From the end of a recent press release by my state representative, Ron Maurer. 

Most public employees across the United States contribute to their health insurance premiums. Teachers in Oregon pay an average of 12 percent of their health premium, while federal employees contribute 25 percent to 45 percent of the costs of their health
insurance premium.

Only two states, Oregon and North Dakota, do not require their state employees to contribute to their insurance premiums. But, North Dakota has an annual deductible of up to $1200 while Oregon’s state employees deductible is $0. In 2006, the average state employee across America contributed 19.2 percent to their health insurance premium.

Why does he bring this up?  Switching links...

State Rep. Ron Maurer would institute health insurance premium payments by state employees to fund health care for certain Oregonians and increased payments to providers.

The Grants Pass Republican, who manages his wife's health clinic in Rogue River, recently announced Health Access Oregon, which he plans to introduce during the 2009 regular session if re-elected. Maurer faces Democrat Julie Rubenstein in November.

Under his plan, the 46,000 public employees who get health and dental benefits via the Public Employees Benefits Board would be required to contribute 13 to 15 percent of their insurance premium cost.

...

The requirement would be phased in as contracts are renegotiated and be in place by 2012, under the proposal. Retirees would not be affected.

"This is about insurance parity," he said. "As a state employee, I must face the reality that the taxpayer cannot continue to pay for everything. I must begin to shoulder some of the burden of my insurance premiums."

Employees who earn $31,000 or less a year would pay the lower premium, although legislators would pay the higher one regardless of salary.

Dead on arrival.  It doesn't matter that the average state employee also receives better-than-average pay and has one of the top retirement systems in the nation--the best for the Tier 1 employees.  Sadly, it's more important to our Democratic majority--which seems likely to grow this fall--to enrich the government unions rather than protect Oregon's needy. 

We were reminded of this again last year when, despite a huge increase in the state budget, the legislature chose not to fund the Healthy Kids Program.  Instead, it gambled the fate of our uninsured children on a proposed cigarette tax increase...that would mostly be borne by folks in lower income groups.  When voters shot it down, it was Big Tobacco's fault, not the politicians protecting deeper-pocketed special interests. 

What would Health Access Oregon buy us?

The Legislative Revenue Office estimates that $114 million would be available in the 2009-11 biennium under the plan, Maurer said.

Half of the money would be used to provide health and dental insurance coverage under Oregon Health Plan Plus, generally children and adults eligible for traditional Medicaid, including low-income senior citizens and those who are blind, pregnant, have disabilities, who are younger than age 19 or who qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Maurer said it would be necessary to examine the amount of revenue from the plan to determine how many people would be covered and if it would be possible to include the Oregon Health Plan's standard care.

A quarter of the money would be used to maintain and expand safety net primary care and preventive services such as school-based health clinics and community health centers.

The final quarter of the money earned from requiring employees to pay an insurance premium would go to increase reimbursement to those who provide primary and preventive medical and dental care.

That last part is certainly an issue in much of rural Oregon, where despite similar costs, Medicare reimbursements are significantly lower than in places like Portland (previous blog here).  Switching links...

Rep. Mitch Greenlick of Portland said Maurer did not submit the idea to the House Health Care Committee, which Greenlick leads and Maurer sits on, or to a special board created by the 2007 Legislature to come up with ways to extend coverage to more of the 600,000 Oregonians without it.

"Rep. Maurer decided instead to take a shot at public employees that detracts from, rather than facilitates, the creation of a feasible plan to improve health care," Greenlick said. "This proposal has no real chance of improving health care for those children and adults who currently don't have access to insurance."

...

"It has always been a priority for members of our local to maintain health benefits," said Joe DiNicola, the president of Local 503 of Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 40 percent of the state workforce. "We have accepted lower-than-average pay increases over many years with that in mind."

Attacking the messenger and lying about compensation...must be afraid that Maurer's idea might resonate.  

Excessive Compensation

Yesterday's Daily Courier had an interesting article on the compensation that Grants Pass provides city employees. 

Pell, who owns Sunshine Natural Foods, was the vice chairman of the Josephine County Compensation Advisory Committee, created in 2004 to look at the county's wages and benefits.

"I am a concerned citizen and taxpayer who is fortunate to have a good job," Pell said.

"My biggest concern is that I believe the benefit packages to be unrealistically generous and are far greater than anyone, especially me, ever imagined them to be or that the city staff portrays them to be."

...

The city's budget shows the benefits-to-salary percentage for the top step of seven representative positions as of Jan. 1 of this year ranges from 66 percent for an office assistant I position to 49 percent for a treatment plant specialist. The office assistant I salary is $31,164 and benefits of $20,570 for a total of $51,734. The treatment plant specialist's salary is $48,960 with benefits of $23,978 for a total of $72,938.

David Reeves, the city's finance director, said the city's overall benefits-to-salary percentage is 54.29.

That's an eye-watering percentage.

"It is safe to say that the Grants Pass benefits were about 50 percent better, or more in the case of deferred comp matches, than the private sector respondents, keeping in mind that most mom-and-pop operations offer very little to virtually nothing in the way of benefits," Pell said.

One example from the private sector is the Daily Courier's newsroom, where the benefits-to-salary percentage is 25.

The city is required to pay Workers Compensation, Public Employees Retirement System and Social Security benefits, and this year, after suspending the practice for several years, the city is also paying employees' 6 percent contribution to PERS.

This year, for the city's seven representative positions, Grants Pass paid from 12.5 percent to more than 20 percent of the salary into retirement. That will rise by 6 percentage points in the 2008-09 budget, which goes into effect July 1.

The elective benefits are for life insurance, long-term disability insurance and health insurance, which provides medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their families. The employee pays 7.5 percent of the cost of whatever insurance plan he or she chooses.

Oregon's state and local governments are still paying a high price for those PERS losses earlier in the decade.  And let's not forget the following regarding the Tier 1 employees (pulling forward a quote from this previous post)...

In August 2003, Oregon leaders changed pension rules for new public employees and tweaked benefits for those on the job. That has slowed increases in taxpayer expenses. Still, costs are expected to remain at record highs for almost a quarter-century, when workers hired under lucrative pre-2003 plans will be mostly retired and begin to die.

That guaranteed 8 percent return gives those employees the most lucrative state retirement system in the nation.  Returning to the original article...  

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics from August 2007, only 71 percent of workers in the private sector have access to medical plans and just 61 percent have retirement plans.

While the city's benefits may be disproportionate compared to the private sector, they are pretty typical for the public sector.

For instance, Josephine County's ratios range from 42.9 percent for a legal/law library position to 60.5 percent for a building and safety employee.

And those types of numbers resonate across the country.

A recent national survey by a Wisconsin taxpayer group reported that public sector benefits are greater than those in the private sector in every state. The largest gap was in Oregon, where public benefits were nearly triple those in the private sector, according to the report.

Traditionally, government service was supposed to involve lower pay in exchange for better job stability and benefits.  So many government employees whine about their pay, but...

CNNMoney.com on Tuesday reported that, according to Bureau of Labor statistics, the average pre-benefit wage of "public-sector professionals (including teachers and lawyers) was $31.51 an hour in December 2007, virtually identical to the $31.75 an hour for private-sector professionals.

"Public-sector service employees (including many blue-collar workers) averaged $16.72 an hour in salary, compared to $9.87 for private-sector employees."

The city's wages appear to be better than the private sector's as well.

For instance, the entry level salary for the city's office assistant I position is $23,244, and the top step is $31,164. Those duties are described as meeting the public, answering phones, filing, taking payments, handling complaints, arranging meetings and general office duties. By comparison, Oregon Employment Department labor market information for Josephine and Jackson counties list the mean wage for a general office clerk at $25,775.

A parks maintenance worker starts at $29,856 for the city and goes up to $36,288. That position's duties include mowing lawns, cleaning, inspecting and repairing parks facilities, maintaining irrigation systems, applying chemicals and landscaping.

Meanwhile, the OED report states the mean wage for groundkeeping and landscaping workers is $26,465.

...and the odds of those jobs offering healthcare and retirement benefits aren't particularly good.

While public sector wages certainly don't lag behind the private sector, the public sector benefits continue to climb at a time when the private sector is tightening its belt and reducing employee benefits.

Some argue that rather than reduce public employee benefits, benefits for the private sector should be boosted. While Pell doesn't begrudge the city employee benefits, he doesn't believe taxpayers can continue to support them.

"It's not a sustainable concept to continue those benefits," he said, noting that PERS costs continue long after an employee retires.

"They will eventually bankrupt us in much the same way that, left unchanged, PERS was going to bankrupt the state and many small cities that were forced to bear unrealistic costs," Pell added.

...

"The only entities that are able to offer benefits on the level we are now seeing in Grants Pass are those that have the ability to raise fees, taxes and levies," he said. "The only other way it is done, like our federal government now does, is borrow the money and let our grandkids worry about how to pay it back. In my book, either way is unsustainable. Realistic spending is the answer."

The answer most government employees and their unions are looking for is more revenue, because compensation must rise.  If more revenue isn't available, it may be necessary to cut services and even a few junior employees to pay for the increased compensation.  If the public wants those services back, the class sizes to shrink, etc., it needs to fork up some more money.  That's the realistic spending they're looking for.

Beverage Container Recycling Negotiations

On Tuesday, the Chairman of the Bottle Bill Task Force published his preliminary recommendations (here) for how the state's recycling laws should be modified.  His starting point for the negotiations is that if the legislature passes the necessary laws in the 2009 session, the state should transition to 90 centralized redemption centers (previous blog here) by July of 2012.  But, the retailers can't eliminate their recycling capability. 

• Unlimited return to redemption centers
• Capped return (50) at large dealers
• Capped return (144) at large dealers in counties without redemption centers
• Capped return (12) at small dealers
• Liquor and wine containers to redemption centers only

Public paid money when returning containers to a redemption center

Public gets in-store credit when returning containers to a dealer (exempting counties without redemption centers)

Liquor and wine containers?  Starting in 2013,

• Add sports drinks, coffees, teas, juices, wines, liquors; no milk
• Do not include boxes or pouches

The memo mentioned that the centers need to prevent the redemption of out-of-state containers and that state law needs to clearly outlaw the redemption of such containers.

When the list of recyclables is expanded, the deposits will be as follows:

• Keep at 5 cents for containers less than 24 ounces
• 10 cents for containers 24 ounces or greater
• 25 cents for all wine and liquor containers

And to address concerns that the industry would not be motivated to ensure high recycling rates...

80% beverage container return rate for calendar year 2015

...

If 80% goal is not met for calendar year 2015, all container deposits double beginning January 1, 2018

Note, the Chairman recommends that if the centers aren't ready as scheduled, the OLCC and DEQ must submit a plan to the 2013 legislature for a state-run system of centralized redemption centers.

It's not a bad proposal overall.  I've been mulling scenarios where certain players might be motivated to get the system up and running, then allow it to fail...the checks and balances seem to hold up pretty well.  No doubt the beverage manufacturers will fight this hard.  Maybe that's why the Task Force didn't recommend that the deposit on smaller containers be raised to a dime.   

Levies on the Way

Two of our two-point-something county commissioners have approved the two-tier public safety levies to be on the ballot this fall.  The amount being requested is less than last time, whether within or outside of Grants Pass.

District 1, which includes the entire county, including Grants Pass, would cost property owners an additional 99 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on their taxes and would pay for operations at the county jail, among other expenses. District 2, which excludes the city of Grants Pass, would cost property owners an additional $1.09 per $1,000 of assessed value and would mainly fund rural patrols.

Rural residents would have to pay an extra $2.08 per $1,000 of assessed value if both districts are approved.

...

District 1 would support countywide Sheriff's Office duties such as jail operations, Search & Rescue, courts, records, dispatch and civil actions. District 2 would pay for patrols in rural areas, 911 response, drug enforcement, analysis-forecasting, traffic control and criminal investigations.

As I've said before, the two tier system is the idea that makes the most sense.  I'm sure the details of what that money will pay for will change multiple times before the election. 

The annual tax for property owners in homes with an assessed value of $140,000 in the combined districts would be about $294, according to Sheriff's Office reports. Taxpayers in District 1 would pay about $138 annually, if residing in a home of similar value. Assessed values are generally about one-half of market values, because of voter-approved property tax limits.

The Daily Courier reflexively adds that last sentence nearly every time it writes about a levy.  Just keep on impotently grinding that axe... 

Toler said as growth continues countywide annul tax revenue would also increase. This would allow the Sheriff's Office to meet local demands for service instead of continually falling short.

Gilbertson said if Congress approves an extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which provided money to counties based on average historic timber revenues, it would only "prolong the agonizing death of this county."

Still, Toler said if federal aid materializes, the potential property taxes would be offset "dollar-for-dollar" by that amount.

That part about offsetting the property taxes had better be clearly spelled out in the levies.  Too many people here don't trust our county leadership in general and Toler and Ellis in particular...same goes for lame-duck Raffenburg.

And speaking of Ellis, the following--if accurately reported last week--simply amazes me.

As results came in, Ellis commiserated with supporters at the Josephine County Republican Central Committee in the Guild Building on Williams Highway.

He was surprised that he didn't earn more than 50 percent of the vote and eliminate the need for a November runoff.

How could Ellis be so clueless about his popularity here?  He only got 32 percent of the vote against a really weak field.  Now we're faced with voting for Auto Doc Brown, Chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, if we want to put Ellis to pasture.  Hey, Toler was such a strong candidate two years ago that he only got 57 percent of the vote against write-ins, mostly for Jim Rafferty of the Constitution Party.

Heavy sigh. 

Centralizing Recycling

Eleven states have deposits on beverage containers.  Michigan and Oregon are the only states which don't have centralized recycling centers.  Michigan has long had the highest recycling rate...note that it's the only state with a dime deposit.  Oregon has the highest recycling rate of the remaining states, all of which have nickel deposits. 

Oregon's grocers would prefer it if we switched to centralized recycling centers. The impending deposit on water bottles (Jan 1, 2009) has only increased their motivation to make such a change happen.

The plan calls for 90 new industry-financed centers, enough to allow 250 of Oregon's 300 large grocery stores to bar messy bottle bill returns. That's a long-sought goal for many of the large grocers, who receive three-quarters of the state's deposit containers.

...

By increasing capacity and reducing grocer opposition, the centers could also help expand the state's bottle bill further to include containers that don't require deposits now, such as sports drinks, juice drinks, and bottled coffees and teas.

But the high-volume centers are likely to raise neighborhood concerns. And recycling advocates worry they would reduce convenience for recyclers, lowering Oregon's relatively high redemption rate.

A major sticking point is whether grocers would be allowed to eliminate their recycling operations when the centralized recycling centers are up and running. 

Grocers first floated the redemption center idea in the 2007 Legislature, but it didn't go anywhere. Since then, they've brought many beverage distributors on board and fleshed out details, which they presented to the state's bottle bill task force last week.

The task force, set up by the 2007 Legislature, is supposed to come up with bottle bill recommendations by Nov. 1 in advance of the 2009 session.

Its charge includes evaluating whether to change the system's structure, whether to require more containers to carry a deposit and whether to increase the nickel deposit, which has remained the same since the bill took effect in 1972.

...

Industry groups want the Legislature to delay talk of raising deposits or adding new containers until 2011.

2011...right.  They want to delay such talk as long as possible, preferably forever.  Businesses are well aware that deposits depress sales a bit.  That's why our wine industry, despite the fact that so many of our wineries pride themselves on being green, fights deposits on wine bottles.  Hrmph. 

The centers would run about 1,600 square feet, including storage space, reverse vending machines and restrooms, he said. And they'd be located in convenient retail areas, not industrial zones or inside residential areas, perhaps partnering with donation-driven charities such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

On average, the centers would substitute for three grocery stores. On Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Andersen said, up to six grocery stores could consolidate to one location.

Andersen wants to start out with a couple of centers in 2009. At full build-out, the 90 centers would spread to cities throughout the state, including an estimated 10 centers in Portland, three in Eugene and Salem and two in 11 cities, including Beaverton, Gresham and Hillsboro.

Costs, as much as $16 million a year, would be covered by grocers and distributors, not taxpayers. Distributors receive well over $10 million a year in unredeemed deposits from containers that end up in curbside recycling or trash instead of being turned in for a deposit. But the redemption centers would be an added cost.

But, grocers would save some money if they got to close the recycling operations at their stores.  It wouldn't be their problem if our recycling rate dropped.  That's why recycling advocates are promoting a system whereby if our redemption rates drop, deposits would rise.  That would motivate businesses to at least ensure that the centralized recycling centers were well-run.  Good idea.

Reopening the Libraries

Saturday will mark a year since our county libraries started closing their doors.  They were supposed to shut after voters rejected the library levy in Nov '06.  However, the commissioners waited a few months until the voters rejected the public safety levy. 

A short time later, despite clear voter feedback and continuing fiscal concerns, two of our three commissioners went ahead and promised some money to vocal library supporters.  If volunteers could raise $300,000 and come up with a plan to operate the libraries for 3-5 years, the commissioners would match that $300,000 ($75,000 of it from the library trust fund..previous blog here).

Here we are almost nine months later, and the non-profit Josephine County Libraries Inc. has raised about $120,000, almost a third of that in pledges and in-kind goods and services.  So to draw attention to their effort...    

Josephine Community Libraries Inc. will hold a Remember the Libraries memorial service at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Mourners will gather outside the Growers' Market for a funeral march past the Grants Pass Library to the steps of the Josephine County Courthouse. At the courthouse, participants will celebrate the life of the library with stories and songs.

Know your audience--leave the pretentious crap to Ashland.  Same goes for..........don't get me started about how library advocates have hurt their cause in recent years.   

The organization is also collecting stories from community members about the impact libraries, open and closed, have had on their lives.

"Anniversaries are always a time to reflect," said Josephine Community Libraries volunteer Robin Elliott. "And on this anniversary in particular, one year of a shuttered library, we thought it would be appropriate to record and share the powerful stories we hear of how much people love and miss their libraries."

Stories will be saved in the organization's archives and used to illustrate the importance of libraries to future generations. They may also be reprinted in fundraising and promotional materials. Authors agree to permit Josephine Community Libraries to reproduce and disseminate submissions in print or electronically.

It would help to hear from people who need the libraries and have been hurt by their loss. It's harder to get folks to open their wallets when they can't see much in the way of tangible, measurable benefits from having libraries.    

Obviously, it doesn't help that the loss of timber funds is cutting deeply into the most basic of county services, like policing and jails.  The lead article in the DC today was "Public Safety Levy Moves Closer to Ballot."  It's still looking like we'll be voting upon a two-tier system, modeled after what Deschutes County has. 

District 1 is a countywide district that pays for jail operations, courthouse security, emergency disaster planning, search and rescue and other services that are countywide in nature.

District 2 consists of only the unincorporated areas of the county and provides funding for rural sheriff's patrol, investigation, traffic teams and other services. City residents receive those services from their city police department.

Sure seems like a logical approach.  Now if we knew how much money they'll be asking for. 

If we approve dedicated funding for public safety, you know the county will take the discretionary money it's been giving the sheriff's office and spend it elsewhere.  The only question is what percentage of our tax increase would actually go towards public safety.  The rest...maybe that's how our libraries are reopened.

Temporarily Blue

My parents--lifelong Republicans--recently received their first ballot as registered Democrats.  It came with a note that explained why they'd accidentally received a Republican ballot a few days earlier.  They, like so many here in very red Josephine County (which has non-partisan local elections), faced little of interest to vote upon as Republicans in the primaries. 

- McCain obviously has things wrapped up.

- Senator Smith may as well be unopposed.

- Rep. Walden is unopposed (and once again may as well be in November), and no one in either party is running against Rep. DeFazio.

- There's one candidate each for Secretary of State and State Treasurer, and none for Attorney General.

- In State Senate District 1, Kruse has no opposition.  Same for Atkinson in District 2.

- In House District 3, Maurer is unopposed.  Richardson may as well be in District 4.  For those who live in the NE corner of the county, it looks like there's an actual race to see who will replace Susan Morgan in District 2...but Douglas County dominates that vote.  That's it on the red side.

Little wonder a number of local Republicans are trying to influence the genuine contests that the Democrats are having.  When my folks went in to change their registration, they got talking to the crowd in the County Clerk's office...all were there to temporarily become Democrats. 

- Obama has done the impossible; he's actually convinced some Republicans to vote for Hillary...once.  Besides the fact that keeping her in the race extends the bitter battle, Hillary isn't quite as far left as Obama.

- Merkley and Novick are both trying to convince us that they can be less ineffective than Senator Smith.  If they could help on timber payments, that would be a plus.  In today's Daily Courier... 

Sen. Ron Wyden said last year he'd attach funding for rural Oregon timber counties to every bill he could.

On Thursday, Oregon's Democratic senator said he has received assurance from Democratic leaders on the Appropriations Committee that a Senate bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan includes $400 million for rural counties in 39 states to pay for schools, libraries and other services.

President Bush has repeatedly said he would veto any domestic spending attached to an emergency spending bill.

...

"It's a crisis and I'm just doing everything I can back here, looking for any and all opportunities to attach it," said DeFazio, a Democrat whose District 4 includes rural Josephine County. "It's a real uphill battle. If we could stay alive for one more year, then we'd have at least two of three presidential candidates saying they want to continue payments. If we could get an advocate of county payments in the White House, we'd be in better shape."

Once again, the best that Wyden can do is attach timber payments to a bill that's dead on arrival.  DeFazio can't even get that done...it doesn't help that his majority leader opposes the payments (previous blog here).  Until Congress passes a bill that forces President Bush to veto timber payments, this failure is on the Democrats.  Neither Merkley nor Novick would have any seniority, so who would be better at working with others?  Well--for better and worse, mavericks tend to have more difficulty at pushing legislation in DC.

- Unless something unusual happens, the Democratic primaries for Secretary of State and Attorney General will determine the winners in November.  That leaves Republicans hoping for Democratic candidates that show a bit of independence from the existing power structure.  Simple, luke-warm choices there.

Tuesday's results will certainly be interesting.  Come November, most of our temporarily blue voters will hold their noses and vote for McCain and Smith...the remainder will likely abstain or offer a protest vote, bemoaning the weak selection of candidates in recent years.