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Welcome/AOC News

CDBG Application News. The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) will not be accepting Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications for the 2008 third quarter application cycle scheduled for July 1 – September 30. However, OECDD anticipates re-distribution of a portion of the 2008 program set aside for the Main Street Façade Rehabilitation and Emergency Projects on December 31, 2008. In anticipation of the set aside re-distribution, OECDD will be accepting applications during the fourth quarter application round scheduled for October 1 – December 31, 2008. Fourth quarter funding decisions will be made by February 28, 2009. If you have questions regarding this notice or need project development assistance, please contact the OECDD Regional Coordinator for your area. Regional Coordinator contact information can be found on OECDD’s website at: http://econ.oregon.gov.

Water Storage, Conservation and Reuse Grants.

The information and forms necessary to apply for Water Conservation, Reuse and Storage Grant Program funds to support feasibility studies was placed on the Oregon Water Resources Department website (http://www.wrd.state.or.us/) on July 15th. The deadline for submitting applications is September 2, 2008. If you are preparing applications or plan to prepare an application for submission, the Department is asking that you get your information in as far in advance of the September 2, 2008 deadline as possible. There will not be time for the Department to gather any additional information or to ensure that applications are complete. The Department has program staff available to assist you in the application process so that you can submit your application prior to the September 2, 2008 deadline. Please see this INFORMATION PIECE on the program.

33rd Annual LPGI Conference coming up. The Local Government Personnel Institute will hold its 33rd Annual Conference in Salem September 10th and 11th. It is an opportunity to learn more about human services, labor relations and employee retention. For more information, click HERE.

Governor's Task Force on Federal Forest Payments and County Services Releases Report. Governor Kulongoski received the report from the Task Force during a news conference on June 23. The report is comprehensive and includes 54 recommendations to help ease the blow to counties from the loss of federal forest payments. The number one recommendation is to work to get a four-year reauthorization to give the state and counties some time to implement the other recommendations. You can read the report HERE. You may also want to read the AOC news release. The Governor has called for a 60-day comment period on the report. We urge you to read the report, and comment!

Eastern Oregon Rural Alliance to Host Oregon Rural Congress. The Congress will be held August 21-22 in Cascade Locks. Take a look at the brochure and an invitation from the sponsors here.

Association of Oregon Counties
Mailing: PO Box 12729 · Salem, OR 97309
Location: 1201 Court St NE Suite 201 · Salem, OR 97301
Phone: (503) 585-8351 · Fax: (503) 373-7876

County News

Rural Oregon Acts.

Read an FYI on the first ever Oregon Rural Congress from AOC.

Will Congress Act?

Oregon counties prepared their current budgets without federal forest payments. Congress went home for August without doing anything about federal forest payments. Which raises the question, will Congress act on federal forest payments before the end of this session? An answer appears in the Salem Statesman-Journal.

Trees and Oil Rigs.

U.S. Representative Greg Walden, R-OR, is proposing that the revenue from off-shore oil drilling be used to fund federal forest payments. The story is in the Dalles Chronicle.

Making the Most of a Bad Situation.

Douglas County Commissioner Joe Laurance has some thoughts on how Oregon can replace federal forest payments. The answer, he says, is growing in the woods. His op-ed appears in the Oregonian.

What a fine mess.

The reality of the impact of losing federal forest payments is setting in across Oregon. Two members of a Legislative Task Force on Revenue Restructuring offer their perspective in an op-ed that appears in the Oregonian.

Last one out of the courthouse, turn off the lights.

What happens if an Oregon county can't pay its bills? The Eugene Register Guard has an opinion.

Another 9th Circuit Ruling.

This one impacts Eastern Oregon. The story is in the Ontario Argus.

Timber Woes.

Cutting trees in Oregon isn't the business it used to be. Read about the current problems facing Oregon counties in the Baker Herald.

Timber Woes, Part II.

Coos and Curry Counties showed margainal increases in timber harvest. The story is in the Coos Bay World.

Reality Check.

Speaking of editorials, take a run through one penned by the City Editor of the Daily Courier in Grants Pass.

Rural Policy, Economy Ignored.

An editorial in the Blue Mountain Eagle outlines the problems facing rural Oregon with the loss of the Office of Rural Policy and the decrease in regional investment funding.