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 Welcome/AOC News
 
Commissioner Naito Honored by NACo.  Multnomah County Commissioner Lisa Naito has been honored by the National Association of Counties for her service to NACo as a member and chair of NACo's Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee.  Read more in this release from NACo HERE.

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. 

Feeling Good at 150.  The Great State of Oregon will celebrate 150 years of statehood in 2009.  Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Hansell (a past AOC and NACo President) has a request for his fellow county commissioners and judges.  Read it HERE.  Bill would be glad to hear from you and of course, you can always call AOC with your questions.  A story on the 150 celebration recently appeared in the East Oregonian.  Read it HERE.

Oregon Solutions Wants to Help. Oregon Solutions is a unique organization designed to bring together various stakeholders and get things done. It has happened for a number of Oregon counties already. Click HERE to learn more about Oregon Solutions.

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
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. 
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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. 
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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.
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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.
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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. 
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Another 9th Circuit Ruling.
This one impacts Eastern Oregon.  The story is in the Ontario Argus.
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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.
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Timber Woes, Part II.
Coos and Curry Counties showed margainal increases in timber harvest.  The story is in the Coos Bay World.
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Reality Check.
Speaking of editorials, take a run through one penned by the City Editor of the Daily Courier in Grants Pass.
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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. 
  read more...
    
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