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Partly sunny with chances of afternoon rain with a high of 72 and a low of 53. See more weather on Page 4A. Serving the communities of Cottage Grove and Creswell

State: $5.61B City manager search shifts into high gear surplus; taxpayers to receive credit on 2023 returns By Cindy Weeldreyer Sentinel Community Reporter

TODAY’S EDITION

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) has confirmed a more than $5.61 billion revenue surplus in the 20212023 biennium, triggering a tax surplus credit, or “kicker,” for the 2023 tax year. The surplus—the largest in state history—will be returned to taxpayers through a credit on their 2023 state personal income tax returns filed in 2024. The credit is based on tax liability for the 2022 tax year. Taxpayers who have not yet filed a 2022 tax return, should file now so they can claim their kicker credit when they file their 2023 tax return. To calculate the amount of their credit, taxpayers can multiply their 2022 tax liability before any credits—line 22 on the 2022 Form OR-40—by 44.28 percent. This percentage is determined and certified by OEA. Taxpayers who claimed a credit for tax paid to another state would need to subtract the credit amount from their liability before calculating the credit. Personal income taxpayers can also determine the amount of their kicker using a What’s My Kicker? Calculator available on Revenue Online. To use the calculator, taxpayers will need to enter their name, Social Security Number, and filing status for 2022 and 2023. Taxpayers are eligible to claim the kicker if they filed a 2022 tax return and had tax due before credits. Even taxpayers who don’t have a filing obligation for 2023, still must file a 2023 tax return to claim their credit. The 2023 Oregon personal income tax return instructions will include detailed information on how to claim the credit on Form OR-40 for full-year Or-

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egon residents, Form OR-40-P for part-year residents, and Form OR40-N for nonresidents. Composite and fiduciary-income tax return filers are also eligible. Taxpayers should keep in mind that the state may use all or part of their kicker to pay any state debt they owe, such as tax due for other years, child support, court fines, or school loans. Taxpayers can donate their kicker with a checkbox on their tax return to the Oregon State School Fund for K-12 public education, but they must donate the entire amount. The donation is permanent and cannot be taken back. Taxpayers also have the option of donating part or all of their refund to any or all of the 29 charities approved by the Charitable Checkoff Commission. Taxpayers use Form OR-DONATE to designate any amount or all of their refund to donate to charity. Free tax preparation services are available for both federal and Oregon tax returns. Some software companies offer free software use and e-filing for eligible taxpayers. Visit the Department of Revenue website to take advantage of the software and free offers and get more information about free tax preparation services. For more information, go to the Oregon surplus “kicker” credit page of the Department of Revenue website. Visit www.oregon. gov/dor to get tax forms, check the status of your refund, or make tax payments; call 800-3564222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish); 503-3784988 in Salem and outside Oregon; or email questions.dor@oregon. gov.

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. - The hunt is on for a new city manager to succeed Richard Meyers, who retired on Sept. 30, after serving in that position for 26 years. The city council chose to hire a search consultant to assist with the recruitment process. At its Aug 28 meeting, the city council interviewed the four respondents to its request for proposal seeking a consultant to lead the process. They were: GMP Consultants; Jensen Strategies; Local Government Personnel Services

(LGPS); and Prothman. At the end of the meeting, GMP of Snoqualmie, Wash. was their top pick. Founded by Greg M. Prothman, GMP Con-

Broadway comes to Cottage Theatre with The Producers By Andrea Hummel, Cottage Sentinel Arts Reporter COTTAGE GROVE, Ore - The Producers, directed by Bill Morrill, opened October 6 at the Cottage Theatre. This play is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and is adapted from his 1967 film of the same name. The story concerns two theater producers who plan to get rich by fraudulently overselling interest, primarily to rich widows, in a play designed to fail. Their search for the worst play they can find leads them to Franz Liebkind, delightfully played by Earl Ruttencutter, who has written “Springtime for Hitler,” a play designed to show Adolf Hitler in a much better light. Part of the humor in The Producers draws on caricatures of Jews, gay people and Nazis; it also throws in quite a few sexual references. The Cottage Theatre program for this show has a disclaimer reminding audiences that the play is a satire and CT does not endorse any of

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the attitudes of these fictional characters, a good move considering the craziness of our current times. This show has won numerous awards and featured many different actors as the two leads. Probably best associated with the roles of Bialystock and Bloom are Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick who appeared in the 2001 Broadway cast. Al Villanueva played Bialystock in the CT production and his years of musical theater served him well. The role is high energy, almost a caricature of a Broadway producer, and he was wonderfully cast. Kory Weimer as Bloom was a match for Bialystock’s energy. Weimer sang, danced, mugged and lit up the stage. Janet Rust’s choreography was perfect, light and playful, and beautifully performed by Bloom and Natasha McPhaden. Audience members that The Sentinel spoke with were delighted to see the 8-piece combo in the orchestra pit. CotSee THEATER page 3A

sultants is a public sector consulting firm with a collective 180 years of local government leadership experience. GMP tapped, Bob Larson, one

of its one of its senior consultants to take point on the Cottage Grove search process. Larson brings to the table 17 years of service with two communities in Washington State and 17 years with three communities in Minnesota. He has held positions of leadership with Washington State organizations that support cities and city managers. According to Prothman, Larson is known and well-respected within municipal government for his leadership and management qualities. On Sept. 11, the search campaign kicked-off with the Council approving a Personal Services See SEARCH page 3A

Eugene voters on track to reject Holvey recall

More than 90% of votes counted Tuesday rejected the attempt to remove the high-ranking Democrat

Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, listens during a committee meeting in December 2022. (Connor Radnovich/ Oregon Capital Chronicle) nity and intimidate electBy Julia Shumway, ed officials,” Holvey said Oregon Capital in a statement. “I want Chronicle to thank all my union EUGENE, Ore. - Eu- partners, organizations, gene voters appear on legislative colleagues, and track to overwhelmingly community leaders who reject a recall against one supported me throughout of the state’s top Demo- this election.” United Food and Comcratic legislative leaders. More than 90% of the mercial Workers 555, 11,000 votes counted by the union that represents 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Oregon grocery workers, recall election targeting collected signatures to Rep. Paul Holvey reject- force the first recall eleced the attempt to remove tion against an Oregon the longtime lawmak- lawmaker in nearly four er and second-ranking decades. A union spokesman Democrat in the House. It’s a decisive end to a said earlier Tuesday that recall campaign that pit- the union would send a ted unions against each statement shortly after other and cost hundreds election results posted of thousands of dollars in but had not done so by 9 what would normally be p.m. Holvey, a former cara quiet off-year. “Today we sent a penters union representastrong message that one tive known in Salem for policies, deep-pocketed group labor-friendly who doesn’t get their way has served in the state can’t abuse the recall sys- House for nearly 20 years. tem to deceive a commuSee HOLVEY page 3A

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