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Senate Timber Funds Extension Could Save Jackson County LibraryThe Jackson County, Oregon, library system, which was scheduled to shut down April 6, could be rescued by emergency funding approved by the U.S. Senate 75—22 March 28. The proposed five-year, $5-billion program would assist the over 700 counties in 39 states that received funds from the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self Determination Act, passed in 2000 but not renewed in 2006.Legislators’ refusal in November to renew the timber subsidy to communities whose revenue relies on the logging industry left Jackson County with a $23-million shortfall; about 50% of county land is owned by the federal government and not subject to local property taxes. Jackson County now stands to receive $23 million in the first year of the extension, enough to reopen the headquarters library and all 14 branches. Local property-rights advocates, who blame the lawsuits of environmental groups for drastically reducing timber harvests, promoted increased timber production at an April 6 rally in front of the headquarters library just hours before the system closure. “There are a lot more serious issues than just closing the library,” Kathy Lehman, president of the regional chapter of the People for the U.S.A. Grange, told the April 4 Medford Mail Tribune. “I think that it is wholly appropriate that the libraries are the first to go because they are the least essential.” The Senate’s funding extension has yet to pass through the House, and is tied to an appropriations package that sets a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq—something President Bush has promised to veto. If the package clears these hurdles, it is unclear how the emergency federal funding would impact Jackson County’s proposed three-year, $8.3-million levy that, if approved by voters May 15, would also provide funds for reopening the library system. “It puts it in a very awkward situation,” Jackson County Commissioner Dave Gilmour told the March 29 Mail Tribune. “It puts the people supporting the levy in a terrible quandary.” Posted on April 6, 2007. |
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