February 25 2021
Proposed 12-cent increase per $1,000 of assessed value in county s local option property tax will come before voters in May
Clackamas County commissioners were split over whether to send a proposed increase of the local option public-safety levy to voters on the May ballot.
In a purely symbolic vote, commissioners decided 3-2 to support Clackamas Sheriff Angela Brandenburg s proposal to increase the levy by 12 cents. County Chair Tootie Smith, who ran for chair on a campaign of ensuring county public safety is well-funded, and Commissioner Mark Shull, who was appointed board liaison for public safety earlier this week, were the two Nay votes.
Gaps in oversight found in Metro affordable housing bond
Metro Auditor Brian Evans said the regional governing agency ignored some protocols for approving projects.
Metro, the regional government, disregarded some of its own procedures when selecting affordable housing projects to fund with 2018 bond money, according to a report from the Metro auditor.
Auditor Brian Evans said gaps in data collection also impeded the Affordable Housing Bond s appointed oversight committee s ability to monitor progress on some of the promises made to the public specifically that the bond would lead with racial equity and create opportunity throughout the region. It was hard to tell if the methods outlined in the bond s work plan were used to evaluate projects. Using different methods could make funding decisions less reliable and more difficult to defend, according to the 23-page report. Unclear procedures also created uncertainty about project and program reporting.
PGE pledges $75K in assistance to Clackamas County nonprofits
CEO Maria Pope summarizes power company s recovery efforts following historic ice storm
Portland General Electric Chief Executive Officer Maria Pope told Clackamas County leaders Thursday that the county was far and away the hardest hit by the ice storm earlier this month, knocking out power to more than 144,000 residents.
In her 45-minute update to the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 25, Pope said around 500 Clackamas County residents were still without power, and those cases are posing a lot of complex challenges to PGE crews who have come from as far as Montana and California to assist PGE crews in getting power restored. Commissioners also heard from PGE Vice President Larry Bekkedahl about the adverse factors that caused the unprecedented number of outages and how PGE is beginning to reimagine some of the ways it delivers services, as well as how we coexist with the natural environment.
Hundreds take aim at Senate gun bill February 22 2021
Hearing on legislation allowing jurisdictions to ban legally carried firearms in public buildings draws some praise, a lot of criticism.
A Monday morning Senate hearing on legislation to alter state gun laws drew a cavalcade of passionate opposition.
Members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Ballot Measure 110 Implementation heard four hours of virtual testimony Feb. 22 on Senate Bill 554, which allows local jurisdictions to prohibit people with concealed handgun permits from carrying firearms into public buildings. Anyone caught with a firearm in a public building could face Class C felony charges.
The bill is necessary because state law allows people with concealed handgun permits to carry firearms into some public buildings.