Oregon Public Broadcasting

Pink slips are on the way all across Oregon timber country.  That’s because county governments are once again coming to grips with an impending loss of federal subsidies.  Correspondent Chris Lehman has more.

Last year Congress approved a one-year extension of subsidies designed to make up for a loss of revenue from logging operations on federal land. But this year, few counties are counting on the money to balance their budgets.

Eric Schmidt of the Association of Oregon Counties says the days of long-term subsidies are gone.

Eric Schmidt:  “Most of the counties that are impacted and are impacted heavily by the loss of Federal forest payments, have simply said that they can’t rely on Congress, that the uncertainty is something that they can’t live with any longer.  So they’ve prepared their budgets without the federal forest payments.”

Oregon has been the nation’s largest recipient of those payments.  That’s because in places like Lane County, the federal government owns nearly half of the land.

Lane County Administrator Jeff Spartz says about one out of every eight county employees could get laid off by the end of May.  He says the layoffs may result in public safety issues.

Jeff Spartz:  “It’s going to mean a loss of between two-thirds and three-quarters of our jail beds.  There will be some reduction in the sheriff’s ability to patrol.  There will be a reduction in the ability to prosecute felony cases, and virtually no misdemeanor cases will be prosecuted under the proposed budget.”

Spartz says even if the subsidies are renewed, the writing is on the wall.

Jeff Spartz:  “What people in Congress tell us, and they’re very consistent about this, whether we get a single year’s payment, or whether we get multiple-year payments, this is going to be the last time that they authorize this program.”

That means many of the layoffs in Lane County and elsewhere will happen regardless of whether Congress approves a short-term extension of the payments.

Lawmakers in the House are considering a one-year extension of the county timber subsidies.  A Senate plan would phase out the payments over the next four years.  A final decision might not come until fall.