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For Immediate Release 10/03/08

Estimated Impact of Secure Rural Schools Renewal on Lane County Government

Contacts: Lane County Board Chair Faye Stewart, 682-4203; Intergovernmental Relations Manager Alex Cuyler, 682-6504; Budget Manager, Dave Garnick, 682-3694

Lane County has received news that HR 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which includes federal Secure Rural Schools funding, has been approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush.

Estimated impact on Lane County:

This bill steps down payments over four years, from 100 percent to 70 percent by the latter part of 2011. It places additional restrictions and oversight on how some of the money is allocated by counties for services on federal forestlands.

In Fiscal Year 2011-12 a new formula will be used to determine the amount counties will receive. This formula is based upon historic timber payments, average income levels and acreage of federal land.

"We are thankful that this critical county funding has been renewed," said Board Chair Faye Stewart. "However, we know that we must continue to strategically plan for the future. That means reexamining our budget and determining how to best meet the community’s needs while preparing for future stability."

Stewart cautions that reliance on Federal Funding is not a sustainable, long-term solution for providing public services for Lane County residents.

"Four years of funding will go by fast," he said, "and we’ll find ourselves again in the difficult position of cutting programs and reducing services unless we work toward finding a stable resolution to our fiscal shortfalls."

In the coming weeks, County officials including the Board of Commissioners and County Administrator Jeff Spartz, will work with the County Budget Office to determine the timeline for revisiting the current year budget.

Background
In June, the Board adopted the Fiscal Year 2008-09 Budget that reflected about $50 million in reductions to service and an 8 percent reduction to the County’s workforce. Lane County was identified as a hard-hit county by the Governor’s Federal Forest Payments Task Force, which is a collective of county and state officials from throughout Oregon that were tasked to explore solutions to the impacts realized by the loss of $238 million in federal funding annually.

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 was a response to the severe downturn in timber revenues realized throughout the 1980s and 90s. The act recognized that communities where federal lands are located need federal support to sustain basic local government services in the absence of property tax revenue. Historically, that support has come either from sharing a portion of revenue from harvesting and selling timber on federal lands, or through funding appropriated by Congress.

The Act was renewed in 2006 for one year. Several different funding proposals had been considered by Congress but were unable to gain support prior to HR 1424.

Amber Fossen
Public Information Officer
Lane County Government
125 E. Eighth Ave.
Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 682.3718
(541) 359.9143 (cell)

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