Members of Congress condemn violence after assassination attempt on Trump
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Chronicle & Chief THE COLUMBIA COUNTY
Wednesday, July 17, 2024 | Columbia County, Oregon
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St. Helens’ challenging 2024-2025 budget that were not filled last year. “We will fill three public works positions that were left vacant in the prior year,” Walsh said. “These positions are funded through the city’s enterprise funds, which have more stable revenues than the city’s general fund.”
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he City of St. Helens approved its 2024-2025 budget earlier this summer, and the city has needed to rely on “one-time” sources of revenue to avoid undue stress on budget reserves. The St. Helens budget is $84.7 million, which marks an $8.4 million decrease from last year’s $93 million. The city has been put in a difficult position with the exodus of its biggest taxpayer Cascades Tissue. One area of concern for the city is the dwindling funds in the budget’s general fund. In an effort to maintain service levels, the city has resorted to “onetime revenue sources,” such as the sale of city-owned property and timber harvest, according to St. Helens City Administrator John Walsh. “One-time revenues were allocated to the General Fund which supports the police, library, administration, recreation, and parks budgets,” Walsh said. “There needs to be new revenue sources to fund services, especially police, and we need to eliminate our reliance on one-time revenue to cover budget shortages.” As the city worked to make the best use of available funds, the cutting of two American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funded positions in the general fund was necessary. The two positions were an I.T. specialist and a parks administrative assistant. Despite the cost saving measures, the general fund reserve’s balance is predicted to be negative by fiscal year 2026-2027. When asked for examples of
The city’s budget message
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The City of St. Helens has once again needed to make tough decisions to ensure the financial health of the city.
new revenue sources the city will explore to bolster the general fund, Walsh said they are considering increasing the police service fee or going out for another Police Operating Levy. The levy placed on the ballot for St. Helens’ voters in the May 2024 election in Columbia County was rejected by voters of the town, with 1,265 people for the measure and 1,694 against it. Community members have voiced concerns over the council increasing its service fees, as it affects their wallets and bank accounts.
This year will also include raises in service fees across the board for water, sewer, and storm. Utility fees increased according to rate study recommendations. Water increased by 2.9%, sewer by 7.4%, and storm by $0.18. Walsh said that rate increases are required to complete the city’s capital projects and operational costs. “Rate increases fund both increases in operating expenses and capital projects. Capital projects are identified through the city’s master plans for each service (i.e.
water, sewer, storm, street, etc.) and include targeted timelines and priorities,” Walsh said. The city has also decreased its budgets for the Street, Street SDC, Sewer, and Community Development Funds. Walsh said there are fewer “projects budgeted for fiscal year 2025 than were budgeted for fiscal year 2024 due to projects being completed this year.” While much of the budget has been focused on cutting back, Walsh did say the city will be seeking employees to staff three job openings
In an effort to bring in more sustainable revenues, the city has been working to bring more manufacturing and industry to St. Helens to replace the tax revenue from Cascades Tissue. In the budget message for the 2024-2025 budget, the city shared the following message: “This year’s budget process has proven exceptionally challenging with difficult decisions necessary to maintain the city’s financial health. The economic challenges from a competitive labor market and increasing costs for materials and supplies are just a piece of our budget challenges. Additionally, the loss of Cascades Tissue has been a major blow to the city and the local economy. “Staff has strived to present a balanced budget whereby anticipated expenses align with projected revenues, while funding the city’s desired services throughout the community. Just as in our message last year, the fiscal reality is that there is more demand for services than available funding and the city must prioritize its resources to achieve the highest outcomes.” Find the St. Helens city budget at: https://www.sthelensoregon.gov/ finance/page/st-helens-city-budget.
St. Helens Safeway included on list of stores to be sold WILL CHAPPELL Country Media, Inc.
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t. Helens’ Safeway location was included on a list of 579 stores across the nation and 62 across Oregon proposed for sale as part of a planned merger between parent company Albertsons Company and Kroger. Stores would be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC, a New Hampshire-based company that operates an extensive grocery supply operation, as well as grocery stores in the Midwest, South, and Northeast. Attempts to merge the two grocery giants began in October 2022, when the companies announced that Kroger planned to acquire Albertsons for $24.6 billion. The announcement drew regulatory scrutiny from the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), which requested additional information on the merger in December of that year. This led the companies to develop a list of 413 stores that they would sell to C&S as part of the divestiture process that was submitted to the FTC in September of last year. A list of specific stores slated for sale was not released at that time, but a release indicated that 49 Kroger and Albertsons stores would be affected in Oregon. However, in February, the FTC announced that it was suing to block the merger, alleging that it would eliminate competition between the two companies, leading to higher grocery prices for consumers. Kroger responded with a press release, part of a concerted public
relations push surrounding the proposed merger, claiming that blocking the merger would lead to higher prices and store closures. The FTC’s opposition-led Kroger and Albertsons to reevaluate divestiture plans, leading to the new list. Proposed store sales in Oregon grew from 49 to 62, with Washington state seeing the most proposed sales at 124 and 19 states affected in total. The proposed sale would see the QFC, Mariano’s, Carrs, and Haggen brand names transferred to C&S and the Safeway name being licensed to the company in Arizona and Colorado, but naming plans for Oregon stores were not immediately announced. A new review by FTC officials will now proceed to determine whether the proposed divestiture plan meets statutory requirements.
FILE PHOTO
The Safeway in St. Helens is located at 795 Lower Columbia River Highway.
35 years of bringing the arts to Clatskanie WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
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COURTESY PHOTO FROM ELSA WOOLEY
Kyle Schopf plays the grand piano at the Birkenfeld Theater in Clatskanie.
IN THIS ISSUE Police Reports .............. A3 Opinion .......................... A4 Market ............................ A5 Public Notices .............. A6 Crossword .................... A6 Obituaries ...................... A7 Sports .......................... A8
or the 35th time, the Clatkanie Arts Commission (CAC) will present its Annual Performing Arts Series, once again inviting the community to share and enjoy the arts. Elsa Wooley is a board member and organizer for the (CAC) and is proud to have kept this series going year after year for three and a half decades. “We are very proud of the accomplishment,” Wooley said. “As we see arts organizations in the county or around the state closing, I think it’s a real tribute to not only the people who have been working on the Arts Commission but also the community that they would support something for 35 years.” The CAC owes its inception to three local piano teachers, Helen Kleger, Natalie Lowrance, and Virginia Victor, who, with the help of
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community fundraising, purchased a grand piano for Clatskanie High School for the spring recitals and to be used by the school music department. Wooley has been involved with the CAC from the beginning through the piano teachers and her husband, Donovan “Dee” Wooley, who was the music teacher at CMHS. The CAC is a non-profit corporation, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization created to provide a variety of entertaining programs and events that enrich the lives of the people of the Lower Columbia River Region. Performing Arts Series
When the Performing Arts Series started, it consisted of four piano performances by professional pianists. Wooley explained how the series evolved over the years. “When it began, it was basically just pianists. After a while, even the piano teachers figured out people
can only stand so much piano playing,” Wooley said. “It broadened in baby steps. We got local performers, who were very affordable; our budget was really small. Now, we have grown into bringing international acts and world-renowned performers. People are always so surprised when they come, and they say, ‘Wow! How did they ever show up in Clatskanie?’” And it isn’t by accident that the performers do come to Clatskanie. Wooley said it takes a lot of hard work to coordinate, but the CAC has a “really good reputation with a lot of agents and a lot of performers.” Because of the positive experiences they have when they come to town, Wooley said it’s grown into a “world wide performance series.” Though attendance at the performance series has taken some time to recover after the pandemic, Wooley said last year’s series was See CLATSKANIE, Page A2
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