Some of you may recall how late commissioner the Nikki Whitty testified in Salem to encourage the passage of a bill that exempted private operators utilizing the county owned 12″ pipeline, in this case NW Natural, from taxes. The $51 million pipeline was never meant to be economically viable and the taxpayers should not expect any return on the investment in the form of revenue from private use. The bill passed assisted by Senator Arnie Roblan during his tenure as a representative and was unique and applies only to Coos County.
According to The Register Guard the Oregon House has just sent a similar bill regarding the Coos Bay Rail Link to the Senate. HB 3276, “…would eliminate an annual property tax bill of about $180,000 that the state Department of Revenue says the Coos Bay Rail Link should pay — money that would go to a long list of local government and school taxing districts in Lane, Coos and Douglas counties”.
Proponents, including several coastal legislators, argue that the new rail endeavor is still in its infancy and can’t afford the tax burden. Shippers moved 2,480 rail cars of wood products, steel, cattle feed, and chromite ore on the line last year, but the customer base is still being built, they say. Rail speed continues to be limited. Trains always stop overnight in Mapleton on trips between Eugene to Coos Bay.
Rep. Caddy McKeown, a Coos Bay Democrat and former Coos Bay port commissioner, says the line needs a great deal of improvement work, including an estimated $60 million in work on its bridges alone.
“The more money we can plow into that rail line, the more quickly we can get this thing off the ground,” she said.
Port spokeswoman Elise Hamner said “private investment” not “daily operations revenue” is what will be needed, if the line is to be brought up to speed quickly
According to the paper there has been no real opposition to the bill. (Did the local paper report on this?) It may be well past time for a contingent of locals to testify in Salem against the continued blind investment, plowing if you will, in economic development schemes that never shows a positive return. Perhaps it is time to ask Salem to demand a full accounting and analysis of the money “plowed” by the Port of Coos Bay in just the last two decades and put the agency on a results only funding cycle.
[Photo http://www.coosbayraillink.com/]
All the railroad is is a guaranteed paycheck for those sitting in the Port offices right now. That’s all it is, they know it, some of us know it, only problem is, because THEY control the press in Coos County, the average, poor working/unemployed never hear the truth about it. All they see/hear is Clark’s BS propaganda, like the other Fredos’ who work for them, he does what he is told to do. All you get are pretty pictures, kids with ice cream cones, and high school sports, and they have the gall to call themselves a ‘news’ organization. It’s blasphemy I tell ya.And it’s dangerous as hell. I’ve done genealogy my entire life, as folks moved into the “wilderness” they built churces, schools, and real newspapers, multiple papers in every community. It’s essential to a functioning society to have access to what is going on around you, not photos of kiddies and ice cream and high school sports. There is a reason even the Kock Suckers want to buy up the remaining newspapers in the US, a very good reason, you see it right here in Coos County. Keep em ignorant of the truth and you can do ANYTHING to them, snicker snicker.
I’m kinda dumb. Please help me. Speaking of taxes, we locals gave our port to the state, to be managed by the state. But, am I correct that the port is a taxing “district” and only certain local Coos County taxpayers are paying property taxes to support Kronsteiner and Company? If the entire state owns the port, and the entire state will reap the benefits from all the wonderful accomplishments of the port, why aren’t all state taxpayers paying tax to support the port?
Crazy Talk! Coos County chumps are on the tax hook.
Did you know at one point the airport issued bonds? As I recall at a 7% guaranteed interest rate. Pretty sweet deal isn’t it? Could they be up to scheming the same deal on the rail? Think about it, private money, paid back by the public at a guaranteed 7% interest rate. Work smarter not harder, money markets sure are not returning that & at today’s interest rates, take a loan at 2% reloan the money @ 7%? BOOYAH BABY! There is a method to their madness.
But 60 million plowed into the rails infrastructure does help locally. It helps West Coast Contractors. They build bridges. They mine chromite. They are owned by the Port President Dave Kroensteiner. Considering history behind the Transcontinental Railroad, Dave could bring cheap labor in on the returning chip ships to squeeze a small profit out of the 60 million dollar boondoggle Patty is bucking for. Privately funded? Are you kidding me? Smart money never uses their own…