|
|
Bend Chamber Weekly E-News
February 15, 2007
By Jeff Nielson
|
|
City sends big wish list to
congressmen
The city of Bend today said it
had submitted federal
appropriations requests totaling
nearly $8 million for the 2008
fiscal year, which begins on
July 1, 2008. The largest
request, $5 million ($2.5
million each in 2008 and 2009),
would be used to expand the
city’s sewer system to houses
within the city limits that now
are on septic systems, many that
are more than 30 years old and
failing. Other big ticket items
include $1.4 million to create a
county-wide, multi-agency law
enforcement records management
system; $980,000 to help buy
five new transit buses; $600,000
to increase access to the city’s
Bend Area Transit (BAT) system
and $490,000 to do something
about the silting in Mirror
Pond. The requests have been
sent to Oregon’s congressional
delegation, Sens. Gordon Smith
(R) and Ron Wyden (D) and Rep.
Greg Walden, R-2nd
District. The city has been
fairly successful in obtaining
grants: Since fiscal year
2003-04, it has received
multiple federal and state
grants totaling approximately
$26.3 million. Three projects
that have benefited from grants
include the building of the new
Newport Avenue Bridge, expansion
of the Bend airport and BAT.
Top of Page
News and notes from the
Legislature
The latest from the halls of
power at the state Legislature
this week: A proposal is moving
forward to raise cigarette tax
84.5 cents to $2.02 per pack,
with the approximately $100
million per year in additional
income used to fund health
coverage for uninsured children
in Oregon. An estimated 115,000
children would be affected. A
big hurdle remains, however:
Raising any tax in Oregon
requires a rare 60 percent “yes”
vote in both houses of the
Legislature. … A bipartisan
group of legislators, including
Sen. Ben Westlund, I-Tumalo,
have introduced a bill in the
Senate to create an open primary
system in Oregon. Under current
law, only members of a party can
vote in partisan primary
elections, leaving out nearly a
half-million registered voters
who aren’t members of a party. …
Legislation now in committee (HB
2372) would require businesses
employing at least 25 workers to
offer half-hour unpaid
breast-feeding breaks for
nursing mothers. A similar
version of the bill died in the
2005 Legislature.
Top of Page
Keeping corporate “kicker”
supported, with some opposition
Last week’s survey question was,
“Should Oregon put collections
from corporate tax “kicker” into
a “rainy day” fund? Most people
said, “Yes,” with some
exceptions. Some comments:
“Keeping the corporate kicker in a rainy day fund is a
great idea. Taxpayers will go
for this one. No one gets much
back from the refund and it is
so expensive for the state to
print and mail all those checks.
I think they should just do away
with the kicker.”
“A rainy day fund makes more sense than giving the
money back to corporate America,
regardless of the state they
reside in. Those companies do
not plan their budgets around
how much of a kicker they will
receive on annual basis, and
Oregon could benefit greatly
from this savings account – but
the state will need to create
very clear guidelines for
spending this money.”
“No. Tax income is very strong this year, but there is
no talk about budgets,
prioritizing or using the money
for anything other than spending
more. The surplus only congers
up new ideas of ways to spend
the money. Until state
government becomes a responsible
steward of taxpayer money, they
don’t need to take the money
that has already been bargained
for in the corporate kicker.”
Top of Page
Benchmark survey completed, can
be purchased
The second annual Central Oregon
Benchmark Survey has been
completed and is available for
purchase. The survey is the only
compensation and benefits survey
designed specifically for
Central Oregon. It includes pay
data on 158 positions and 37
recruiting strategies and
benefits topics customized to
the area on industries such as
banking, construction, golf,
hospitality and retail.
Information:
www.mblgroup.com/cobs, or
call 503-224-7249, ext. 10.
Top of Page
January was slow for residential
home sales in Bend
Data released recently by
Bratton Appraisal Group, LLC,
show that home sales in January
fell to 116, the lowest total
for a January since 99 sales in
January 2004. January and
February historically are
typically slow months for sales,
however. The median sales price
was $323,659, down from the
all-time high of $380,500 in
September 2006, but still above
the $305,000 median sales price
in January 2006.
Top of Page
This week’s survey question
Should the Bend Area Transit
system be expanded, to where and
how should an expansion be paid
for? Please e-mail your
responses to:
jeff@bendchamber.org.
Top of Page
|
|
