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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 7, 2006 Budget preserves rural fund program But Jackson County would get much less than before By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune The Bush administration has proposed deep cuts and the elimination in five years of a program that has pumped more than $2 billion into rural states hit by logging cutbacks on federal land. But Jackson County officials expressed cautious optimism over the fact the president’s budget proposal included the program at all. The 6-year-old "county payments" law has allocated nearly $2.4 billion to rural counties — mostly in the West — for schools, roads and other infrastructure since it took effect in 2000. It’s set to expire this September unless Congress reauthorizes it. "It appears that the president does support this, but the funding level is about half of what is needed," Jackson County Commissioner C.W. Smith said. The White House budget proposal calls for $800 million over the next five years for the program. Advertisement That’s down nearly 62 percent from the $2.1 billion that would be provided if the program continued unchanged, said Josh Kardon, Sen. Ron Wyden’s chief of staff, who helped negotiate the original funding plan in 2000. Wyden and Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who teamed up on the original plan, have backed a Senate bill that would provide $2.5 billion over the next seven years. Oregon Congressmen Peter DeFazio and Greg Walden have sponsored a similar measure in the House. "I’m pleased to see that the president supports reauthorizing the critical county payments program, but the funding levels are inadequate," DeFazio said in a joint statement with Walden Monday. "It’s only a starting point, and a distant one from where we need to finish," Walden said in the same statement. The two expressed bipartisan support for fully funding the program and said ending it would "economically devastate" rural communities. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who directs U.S. forest policy, called the proposal painful but necessary in a tight budget year. Rey, who as a Senate aide helped draft the 2000 law, said it was designed to help rural counties make the transition from dependence on timber receipts to a more broad-based economy and was never intended to be permanent. "Governing is about priorities, and this proposal to cut funding to rural counties by 50 percent tells rural Oregon that we’re not very high on the administration’s priority list," Wyden said. "The administration found billions to fund subsidies for energy company boondoggles, so I have trouble believing they couldn’t find the money in this budget environment to maintain support for rural Oregon counties." The president’s proposal doesn’t include a dollar figure for the 2007 allocation or an exact distribution formula over the next five years. But the average $160 million per year is less than half the $380 million distributed under the program this year. Under the current program Oregon receives by far the most — $147 million this year. It’s followed by California ($64.6 million), Washington ($41.8 million) and Idaho ($21 million). Jackson County Commissioner Jack Walker described the administration’s proposal as "a foot in the door" and said counties now must show federal decision-makers how important the funding is. "The battle’s not over yet," he said, noting that the county would keep up efforts with the state’s congressional delegation and lobbyists. "I’m feeling more confident about this than I have been, but I can’t say it’s taken care of." Indeed, commissioners said they’ll have county administrators continue their work on plans to find new sources of revenue or shutter libraries, curtail rural sheriff’s patrols, limit the number of prisoners at the jail, and cut back on public health services. "We’re planning for the worst-case scenario because that’s the responsible thing to do," said Smith. "We’re guardedly optimistic, but we’re not counting any chickens yet." The federal timber funds provide about $23 million of the county’s $72 million general fund budget. Preliminary plans for how the county could cope with the elimination of those funds call for the county library system to ask voters to approve a special district in the November 2006 election or local option levies the next year. Without new funding, libraries could close. The sheriff’s department also could ask voters to approve a law-enforcement district. Without new funding Sheriff Mike Winters has said patrols might have to be sharply curtailed or the number of inmates in the jail might have to be reduced. The federal help in the county’s health and human services budget pays for medical care to inmates and tracking communicable diseases, Director Hank Collins has said. Veterans support, the animal shelter and local nonprofits such as Court-Appointed Special Advocates of Jackson County, addiction recovery centers and other organizations that provide assistance could also face cuts, he said. Wyden and other critics said the cutbacks were made even worse by a plan to help pay for the program by selling off some Forest Service land that officials consider unnecessary. Sen. Craig said he was concerned about the plan to sell up to 170,000 acres of public lands to pay for the rural schools program. "Public lands are an asset that need to be managed and conserved," he said. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Budget preserves rural fund program ">[email protected] . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement