Oregon Public Broadcasting

Over 100 county officials and others gathered in Eugene Tuesday for the annual Association of Oregon Counties conference.

County commissioners, judges, and others were meeting soon after the billion dollar federal subsidy to rural counties was restored, temporarily. Ethan Lindsey reports.

Most county officials say they had been living with the expectation that the money was going to run out this year.

In fact, some counties slashed budgets for schools, roads, and jails over the summer.

So officials say they were overjoyed to find out, in August, that the so-called county payments were approved. They came as part of the $750 billion Wall Street bailout package.

But, as Tim Nesbitt says, the subsidy only buys the counties time.

Nesbitt is the deputy chief of staff for Governor Ted Kulongoski.

Tim Nesbitt: “Four years from now they will have to, most likely, adjust their budgets to a point where there will be, oh, $180 or $200 million less money coming from the federal government and the federal forest lands.”

Officials say if additional funding isn’t found before 2012, some Oregon counties may be forced to merge or even declare bankrtuptcy.