1992-05064-Minutes for Meeting February 12,1992 Recorded 2/20/1992sz-05064
MINUTES
DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIQNW
February 12, 1992 �? ��,
Acting Chair Throop called the meeting to order atr rd
members in attendance were Tom Throop and Nancy Popp
Also present were Bruce White, Assistant County Counsel, Paul
Blikstad, Planner; Norm Thrasher, Undersheriff; and Susan Mayea,
Office Manager.
1. CONSENT AGENDA
Consent agenda items before the Board were: #l, signature of
Resolution 92-007 appointing the Central Oregon
Intergovernmental Council as Subgrantee for delivering Job
Training Partnership Act Services in Deschutes County; #2,
signature of Order 92-013 changing the name of a portion of
Ladera Road to Sky Harbor Drive; #3, signature of tax refund
Order 92-105; #4, award of contract for the Baker Road Bridge
Project to the low bidder, JAL Construction, Inc. of Bend; and
#5 signature of City of Bend replat for Park Place Subdivision
on Roanoke and West 9th Street.
SCHLANGEN: I move that we approve the consent agenda.
THROOP: I'll second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
2. PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE 92-009 AMENDING REAR YARD SETBACK
STANDARD
Before the Board was a public hearing concerning Ordinance 92-
009 which would amend Title 19, of the Deschutes County Code,
the Bend Urban Growth Boundary Zoning Ordinance to amend
Section 19.24.050 to change the rear yard setback standards in
the RL zone.
Paul Blikstad gave the staff report. He said the Planning
Division was asking the Board to amend the rear yard setback
in the RL to allow them the flexibility to treat a rear yard
on a corner lot in an RL zone as a side yard. That would
allow them to reduce the set back from 20 feet to 5 feet so
that there would be a larger area which could be built on.
Acting Chair Throop opened the public hearing. There being no
one who wished to testify, the public hearing was closed.
SCHLANGEN: Move first and second reading of Ordinance 92-
009 by title only.
PAGE 1 MINUTES: 2-12-92
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0108 1477
THROOP: I'll second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
Acting Chair Throop performed the first and second readings of
Ordinance 92-009.
SCHLANGEN: Move signature.
THROOP: Second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
PP&L FINDINGS AND DECISION
This item was postponed one week.
ORDINANCE 92-010 REPEALING SICK LEAVE WITH PAY --WORKERS'
COMPENSATION
Before the Board was signature of Ordinance 92-010 repealing
Section 3.36.120, Sick Leave With Pay - Workers' Compensation,
of the Deschutes County Code.
SCHLANGEN: Move first and second reading of Ordinance 92-
010 by title only.
THROOP: I'll second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
Acting Chair Throop performed the first and second readings of
Ordinance 92-010.
SCHLANGEN: Move signature of Ordinance 92-010.
THROOP: Second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
PAGE 2 MINUTES: 2-12-92
0108 1478
5. PUBLIC HEARING ON DESCHUTES COUNTY TAX LEVY FOR OTHER TAXING
DISTRICTS
Before the Board was a public hearing for representatives of
units of local government to communicate to the Board of
County Commissioners the effect of the proposed increase in
Deschutes County's current tax levy authority on other units
of local government.
Acting Chair Throop said that this hearing was required by
Ballot Measure 5 to give other taxing districts the
opportunity to talk about the impacts of the County tax levy
on their taxing districts. There was a maximum $10 limit on
the total of all non -school taxing districts, so if one taxing
district proposed a tax levy which would exceed the $10 limit,
it would result in all taxing districts in the County being
required to proportionately lower their tax rate. He said the
Board would also take comments and questions from any citizens
who were in attendance.
Acting Chair Throop said there were couple of factors which
created financial shortfalls for the County and forced the
County to go out for an updated tax base in May of 1992. The
County had been operating with an inadequate tax base while
the population of the County and the cost of living in the
County had grown at twice the rate of the tax base. The tax
base was only 43% of the total source of money which the
County received. Ballot Measure 5 had a revenue impact on the
County also. In 1991-92 FY, the County was $1 million short
of being able to operate a 40 -hour workweek, therefore, the
County reduced its workweek by 10% to 36 hours. It was very
difficult to sustain this shortened workweek since Deschutes
County was Oregon's fastest growing county with a growth rate
of approximately 7% a year. As an example, the County only
had .68 deputy sheriffs per thousand population with the
average in Oregon being 1 per thousand. The Sheriff had asked
for eight new patrol deputies for FY92-93, however the Board
had not authorized any new positions in this proposed tax
base. The tax base included only three items: moving the
County back to a 40 -hour workweek, allocating $700,000 to
operate the new jail, and funding for the traffic safety
patrol. If the proposed tax base was not approved, the County
would have a $2.7 million deficit.
Susan Mayea went through the attached tax rate comparison
sheet with the Board. She said she asked the Assessor's
Office to calculate value changes only for Deschutes County
and the three incorporated cities of Bend, Redmond and Sisters
since there were too many taxing districts to go through each
one. The proposed tax levy was divided by the new valuation
to arrive at the new tax rate of $1.9940 per thousand. She
went through all of the taxing areas in the County to find the
PAGE 3 MINUTES: 2-12-92
0108 14'79
highest taxing area to analyze, which was area 01-30 where
they had a special road district and a vector control
district; and that total government rate would probably not go
over the $9 mark.
Acting Chair Throop pointed out that Deschutes County's
current rate was $1.48 per thousand which was about 29th out
of the 36 counties in terms of the tax rate. The average tax
rate for a county operation in Oregon was over $4, and both
Jefferson and Crook Counties exceeded $4.
Acting Chair Throop opened the public hearing and asked for
testimony from representatives from the other taxing districts
first.
James Fort, 16101 Park Drive, LaPine, said that he was the
Chairman of Special Road District #8 in LaPine. He wanted to
know why the County needed to increase the tax base more than
inflation.
Acting Chair Throop said that Deschutes County was the fastest
growing county in the state and the only one that was on a
reduced workweek. If this tax base were adopted it would only
accomplish three things: (1) return staff to a 40 -hour
workweek with only one new staff position; (2) $700,000 to
fund operations for the new jail (the County was operating its
current jail for approximately $1 million for 54 beds, and it
would take $1.7 or $1.8 to operate a new 150 bed jail); and
(3) to continue the five -member traffic safety team which had
previously been funded by grants which were no longer
available. The reason that it would take this kind of money
to accomplish these three things was because the 57% of County
income which didn't come from taxes was not going to increase
so the entire increase had to be born by the property tax
payers. If this tax base was not funded, the first thing that
would be cut would be the traffic safety team, the second
would be the inability to operate the jail, and the third
would be to continue to operate on a reduced workweek, unless
a major component of the County, like the Sheriff's patrol or
library, was eliminated.
James Fort asked if the present jail was at capacity. Acting
Chair Throop said it was at capacity everyday and people were
being released too early because of overcrowding. Mr. Fort
asked what the highest tax rate in the County would be, and
Commissioner Throop said it would be below $9 a thousand. Mr.
Fort was concerned that the County's increase not affect his
district's ability to increase its tax rate in the future.
There were no other representatives from taxing districts who
wished to testify, so the hearing was opened to testimony from
the general public.
PAGE 4 MINUTES: 2-12-92
Bob Mead said he was a retired police officer and expressed
concern that the other jail was being closed. Commissioner
Throop said the current facility was terribly inefficient and
was taking two staff people for every one staff person that
the new facility could require. It would save taxpayers money
to move out of the old jail and into the new, more efficient
facility. It would only compound the inefficiency of the
situation if the County tried to operate two, separate
facilities. He invited Mr. Mead to meet with him individually
to go over the data in depth. Mr. Mead asked if there was
more than one facility included in the tax base request.
Commissioner Throop said no, the only items included in the
tax base were the three he had outlined previously. There
would be no additions to programs and no increases in staffing
with the new tax base. Mr. Mead asked what was happening to
the budget to operate the current jail. Commissioner Throop
said the $1 million would be transferred over to the new jail,
but it would take another $700,000 to operate the new facility
(which would be a three -fold increase in beds for a two-thirds
increase in operating expenditures). Mr. Mead didn't like it
when more than one issue was placed in the same package for
voting. He also thought the transportation district was part
of the proposed County tax base. Commissioner Throop said no,
it would be voted on separately if it received enough
signatures to be place on the ballot. Commissioner Throop
said he felt the County had gotten the message on this issue.
When the library and the jails were placed on the ballot
together, they failed; so they didn't combine them the next
time and the jail measure passed. Mr. Mead continued that he
felt the County should live within its budget since many of
its citizens were on a fixed income. To save the County
money, he suggested that police officers not be allowed to
take cars home with them, and that all other County staff use
their own vehicles. He also was upset that the County
Commissioners went ahead and purchased the Yellow Front Store
in Redmond when the voters rejected the tax levy for that
project, and then it cost $5,000 to get out of the deal.
Commissioner Throop said the two Commissioners involved in
that purchase "got the message" and reversed themselves,
because they heard clearly from the public. He felt proud of
that kind of responsiveness to the public. Mr. Mead said he
had submitted a copy of the attached letter to the Bulletin.
Earl Enyart, 52410 Dep Lane, Lapine, testified that he felt
the assessed value should not have been replaced by the real
market value on the property tax statements. Commissioner
Throop agreed, but pointed out that this change was required
by Ballot Measure 5, and the County had no choice in the
matter. Mr. Enyart asked where the majority of the total tax
bill went. Commissioner Throop said the vast majority went to
schools. If the average tax rate were $20, only $1.48 would
go to the County, with 70-75% going to schools. Mr. Enyart
PAGE 5 MINUTES: 2-12-92
0.08 1481
was also upset about the purchase of the Yellow Front Store.
He thought the new jail could be built on the old motel site
which would save some money since the County already owned it.
Commissioner Throop said there was a citizens' siting
committee which would be considering all available sites,
including that one. However that site was mostly rock which
would take about $1 million just the prepare the site for
development. Mr. Enyart suggested placing the jail on the
outskirts of town where the prices were cheaper. Commissioner
Throop said that would be considered, but they will have to
balance the increased costs of operation at a remote site.
Mr. Enyart felt the County should operate both jail
facilities. Commissioner Throop said it would take $1 million
to operate the current jail. The new facility would take $1.7
million to operate and would have three times the number of
beds. So it was more economically feasible to move the $1
million to the new facility, so it would only take an
additional $700,000 to operate. Mr. Enyart felt the
representation of LaPine had gone down since Abe Young was a
Commissioner.
Sharon Reed, 16333 Twin Dr., LaPine 97739, testified that she
was on a fixed income with a child to raise and didn't like
increases in taxes, however she did want better police
protection. She hadn't been aware that LaPine was not a city
since she was new to the area. She felt it was important to
build the jail so that it could be expanded, and was concerned
that a site in town would not be expandable. She felt the
jobs created by the new jail were very important for the
economy. When there was only one police office covering the
large southern county, it was important that they have their
police cars at home. When someone broke into the LaPine park
building, the police were unable to respond and just told them
to go ahead and fix the lock. She wanted the LaPine
substation to be open all of the time. Commissioner Throop
said that some police cars did go home with sheriffs deputies
in rural areas to allow them better response time, however
most cars were not taken home in the urban area. He said
there was a resident deputy in LaPine, and the County spent
more money on roads in the LaPine area than anywhere else in
the County. There were also Health and Mental Health programs
operated by the County in LaPine.
Bob Mead pointed out that when a deputy took a car home, it
was only available for one shift. When he was an officer,
they ran the cars for three shifts. He reiterated that the
new jail had to be built with expansion in mind.
Norm Thrasher, Undersheriff, said he came to this meeting to
listen to any of the public's concerns about public safety.
In response to the discussion on the vehicles, he said some of
the cars did go out on double shifts. There were four
PAGE 6 MINUTES: 2-12-92
resident deputies in the LaPine area with three vehicles, so
one vehicle was rotated through on shifts. Because of the
shortage of staff in the Sheriff's Department and the Oregon
State Police, they did have to prioritize calls. He expressed
concern for having the new jail built outside of the
courthouse area, since the deputies were regularly bringing
inmates back and forth from the jail to the court and were
often there to testify. Sharon Reed suggested using the old
jail to hold the inmates during trial days, and then using a
bus to take them all back at one time. Commissioner Throop
said it would probably cost more to staff the old jail than to
transfer them back and forth. Mr. Thrasher said they were
considering the use of TV monitors so that they would not have
to appear in court.
James Fort testified again representing only himself and
expressed concern over the level of service that was given to
LaPine. He specifically pointed to law enforcement, snow
plowing and the formation of the park district. He understood
the County was going to give the park and the buildings to the
BLM, so that was why they had to form a park district.
Commissioner Throop said that wasn't true. The County had
never considered giving the facility back to the BLM,
especially since the County had private nonprofit operations
running programs there. He said the County even exchanged a
piece of property for the White School because the Park
District wanted it. Commissioner Throop said the level of
service which was given to the LaPine area was the same level
of service provided countywide. Since the County's tax rate
was currently $1.48 while the average Oregon County rate was
$4, Deschutes County had among the fewest number of patrol
deputies in the state. If the County did not provide the
level of services that the urbanizing population required, it
was because the County did not have the resources to provide
more service. He also pointed out that there was only one
industrial park in the whole county which the County purchased
and administered which was in LaPine. The County also opened
a library in the LaPine area. Concerning snow plowing, the
County could not spend any money on roads which weren't county
roads, however the County spending more money per capita on
roads in the LaPine area than any other area of the County.
Commissioners Throop and Schlangen suggested that he put
together a meeting in LaPine which they would attend to
discuss these issues.
Commissioner Throop pointed out that there were only two
services provided in Deschutes County which were not mandated
by state and federal law: sheriff's patrol and libraries.
Acting Chair Throop closed the public hearing.
PAGE 7 MINUTES: 2-12-92
6.
7.
9.
0108 1483
LOBOS INDEMNITY AGREEMENT
Before the Board was signature of an Indemnity Agreement with
The Lobos for an off-road motorcycle race to be held
February 29, 1992, and March 1, 1992, near Millican.
SCHLANGEN: I move signature.
THROOP: Second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH TRANSCENTRAL
Before the Board was signature of a Personal Services Contract
with TransCentral to provide job related transportation for
eleven clients with developmental disabilities.
SCHLANGEN: Move signature.
THROOP: Second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE VOUCHERS AND TAX OVERPAYMENTREFUNDS
Before the Board was approval of Accounts Payable Vouchers in
the amount of $14,130.75 and Tax Overpayment Refunds in the
amount of $590.73.
SCHLANGEN: Move approval upon review.
THROOP: Second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused.
APPOINTMENTS TO 4-H/EXTENSION COMMITTEES
Before the Board was appointment of Sharon Hoobler to the
4-H/Extension Service District Budget Committee; and
appointment of Bob Hoar, Carl Juhl, Ann McDonald, Parker
Johnstone, and Rosie Stevens to the 4-H/Extension Service
District Advisory Council.
SCHLANGEN: I move approval of the appointments.
PAGE 8 MINUTES: 2-12-92
THROOP: I'll second the motion.
VOTE: THROOP: YES
SCHLANGEN: YES
MAUDLIN: Excused
DATED this 1,3M day of
Commissioners of Deschutes County,
0108 1484
•�, 1992, by the Board of
s s ioaier
ATT Nancy Po a ch angen, Commissioner
Itt'd � OL
Recording Secretary Secreta Dick Maudlin, Chairman
PAGE 9 MINUTES: 2-12-92
PUBLIC HEARING SPEAKERS' LISTING
PUBLIC HEARING TOPIC:
DATE.•, / 99 a2 TIME:
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0108 1486
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
DESCHUTES COUNTY TAX LEVY
Deschutes County hereby gives notice, pursuant to ORS 310.186, that Deschutes County
intends to seek elector approval for the 1992-1993 fiscal year of an increase in the
current tax levy authority from $6,637.203 to $9,990,000. A special public hearing will
be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 12, 1992, in Hearing Room A, Juvenile
Justice Center, 1128 NW Harriman Street, Bend, Oregon, for citizens and representatives
of units of local government to communicate to the Board of County Commissioners the
effect of the proposed increase in Deschutes County's current tax levy authority on other
units of local government. Any interested persons and representatives of a local unit of
government may attend and comment.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF DESCHUTES COUNTY, OREGON
DICK MAUDLIN, Chairman
To be published in The Bulletin: 1/28/92 and 2/4/92
Mailed to all Deschutes County Local Units of Government 1/28/92.
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Page 1 28 January 1992
Money Management Questioned 0108 1488
I believe we are all concerned about taxes. The majtority
of citizens must stay within a budget; so must government!
The Deschutes County taxpayers just recently passed two,
much needed, issues: a 43 million dollar school bond and
a 92 million dollar jail bond. Now the county wants another
3 - plus million. We, the taxpayers, have yet to see the
increases on our tax bill that reflect these bonds totalling
$52 million. You understand the property tax outcry this
tax period. Wait until the new tax assessments hit the
property owners, and rents jump up.
In my view, this county could save money in numerous ways by
re-examining old practices. One obvious way is by not
allowing anyone to take a County vehicle home (including
Sheriff's Deputies). County and City employees could and
should use their own vehicles in the performance of their
jobs (excluding law enforcers). Let them write mileage as
I did when I was a Police Detective. This saves the purchase
of new vehicles, gas, insurance and maintenance. Government
must attempt to cut costs and retain taxpayers' confidence!
People are mad and upset with government spending and
credibility. Numerous lawmakers didn't pay for their
meals and wrote bad checks. Senator PO OAPis under
investigation for selling his vote to a Southern State University
thusnabling his son to get a free education there. We have
Les Aoin (who is running for the Senate) admitting writing
5 bad checks while representing us.
Locally we have the situation where poor management in tax
collecting resulted in non collection of $125,000 in bed
taxes from "The Inn of the Seventh Mountain" (which has
now filed for bankruptcy). The visitor center is still a
subject of controversial spending. That's why term limits
are gaining favor.
How can we believe this commission when last year Commissioner
Lois Prante and Dick Maudlin overruled the voters and pur-
chased the yellow front building in Redmond for a library
using $450,000 of County insurance money. Fortunately,
this purchase never materialized and the county had to
pay a $5,000 penalty to back out of the deal (at taxpayer
expense). It should be noted that this building was owned by
a current member of this commission.
The bottom line is: Live within your budget!
Bob Mead
60341 Wood side Loo
Bend, Ore. 97702
389-1966