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Racer earns national attention See Second Section
Oregon is seeking land for industry
RESS November 2, 2015
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By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com Oregon council in the next couple of weeks may be considering legislation for the purchase of property for possible industrial development. “The Oregon Economic Development Foundation is looking for some opportunities to acquire some land to help possibly spur industrial development in Oregon,” City Administrator Mike Beazley said at an October 26 council meeting. “We might be looking to partner with that in some way. We are excited about those possibilities.” The city and the foundation are routinely in conversations with developers and realtors about possible projects, Beazley explained after the meeting. “Most of those projects never materialize,” he said, “and you continue to work on them.” Although he wouldn’t disclose the identity of the developers interested in purchasing the property, Beazley said it could “bear fruit” in the next couple of weeks. “We just want council to know we may be bringing legislation within the next coming weeks to take some next steps,” he said. Either the city would buy the property, or provide funding to the foundation to buy it. The city contributes much of the foundation’s funding. “In years past, it was my bias not to have the city acquire land for sale, but to leave it between private parties. It’s frequently the case now, though, when someone comes to us as a potential developer who wants 20 acres of land right away, I’m going to put together a project for Oregon. If we say to that developer to talk to the land owner, they would move on. They don’t have time to negotiate with the land owner. They want the land available and ready to go. Those are the types of situations in which the city will purchase property. That’s what we do for a shovel ready site,” he said. “When we buy the property, we typically expect it to sell fairly quickly Continued on page 2
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One pot store painted the image of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster on its wall. John Szozda See page 11
Haunted fun Top photo, 5 month old Olivia Becker is in costume for Elmore’s Annual Tombstone Derby. With her is her grandmother Nikki Sebring. At right, Dan Ellis, left, of Stony Ridge, chats with coffin racer and builder Tim Eriksen. Bottom photo, Rebecca Ekin, Elmore, wants to try some eyeball soup at the Haunted Historical Cabin. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
Woodmore Schools
Special audit underway, treasurer says By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com A special audit of financial records of the Woodmore School District has begun, Jamie Pearson, district treasurer, told residents attending an Oct. 25 forum. She described the audit as a “limitedscope examination of financial records and other information designed to investigate allegations of fraud, theft or misappropriation of funds. I felt I had an obligation to report some of these discrepancies at the auditor of state’s conference and that’s where this all started.” The audit could cover more than one fiscal year, she said. By implementing more internal controls, Pearson said the administration has made progress in addressing problems with balancing bank reconciliation statements, correcting payroll errors and similar issues. Some residents questioned why routine audits by the state in the past didn’t catch some of the mistakes and Pearson explained the audits are based on sampling of financial statements and not a line-by-line
examination of the district’s accounts. The loss of reimbursements – called hold harmless payments – to the district from the state due to the phasing-out of the tangible personal property taxes is only a “matter of when,” she warned but the district will likely realize more revenue from the Current Agricultural Use Valuation program in 2016. Pearson said she will be bringing a recommendation to the board of education in November for renewing an emergency operating levy first passed in May 2011. It generates $600,000 annually and would need to be passed in 2016 to not cause a lapse in revenue for the district. The district’s most recent five-year forecast shows it ended Fiscal 2015 on June 30 with total revenues of about $9.73 million Pearson is projecting total revenues to reach about $10.4 million by the end of Fiscal 2016, including a reimbursement of about $1.04 million. In each of the next four years, she is projecting the district will receive less than half that amount. Steve Huss, school board president, also noted the district’s financial situation
could change quickly as the state decides future basic state aid allocations. “In 2008, we were collecting around $3,100 per kid,” he said. “We’re up to about $4,700 in state aid now. That may turn around and go the other direction.” A resident asked if the board could look at tightening expenditures so they aren’t so close to revenues. Huss said any significant cuts would have to come from personnel and referred to a presentation by Jim Kieper, high school principal, during the board’s Oct. 20 meeting who said the school is operating with six fewer teachers since 1995, including those who taught at the seventh and eighth grade levels. “Here we don’t have a spending problem. Our problem is revenue,” he said. In Fiscal 2013 and 2014, the district’s general fund expenditures surpassed revenues but still had cash balances due to carry-overs and advances. Data compiled by Pearson for the forum says the administration has implemented spending cuts totaling about $200,000 for Fiscal 2016, which ends next June 30.
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