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Budget committee approves $92.5M budget WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc. JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
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he St. Helens Budget Committee has approved a $92,548,64 city budget, which is a $4,832,640 increase from the 20222023 budget of $87,716,000. The St. Helens City Council will review the spending plan at its regularly scheduled public meeting June 7 meeting. Under Oregon law, a balanced budget must be approved by the city council before the start of the new fiscal year, July. 1. The St. Helens Budget Committee approved the proposed budget at its final public meeting May 4. The budget process has been “exceptionally challenging,” according to the proposed budget document on the city’s website. High inflation, a competitive labor market, and increasing costs for materials and supplies are all cited as reasons for the challenges. “These conditions have increased the city’s operating costs with limited ability to increase revenues. The federal ARPA stimulus funds that helped the city through the COVID pandemic were appreciated but will be depleted in the coming year, and the city will need to adjust accordingly. A strong note of caution is warranted in the coming year to ensure the long-term financial health of our community,” the document reads. Budget under stress Along with the exhaustion of federal COVID relief dollars, the city is experiencing higher costs to support cost of living adjustments (COLA) for unionized city employ-
ees, including an assumed 5% COLA for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and a 6% COLA for St. Helens Police Association (SHPA) employees, and other higher-thananticipated inflationary increases in insurance, materials, and professional services. “Expenses within the General Fund are budgeted at an overall increase of 10.5% over the previous year. Combining all this information essentially means that in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, the city will operate at a 5% deficit. To alleviate that deficit, the city is using the available General Fund reserves to create a balanced budget,” the budget document states. The city’s general fund’s ending balance is projected to be negative for the fiscal year 2025-2026. The city’s adopted financial policy strives to maintain a minimum reserve fund balance of 20% in the general fund. Based on the city’s model, and without adjustment, the city will eventually exhaust the reserve fund. “It is imperative that the city make the necessary adjustments to align revenues with expenditures and maintain the long-term fiscal health of our community, the budget reads. “This year’s proposed budget would see the general fund’s reserve balance end at 15%, and in 2025-2026, this number is projected to be -6%.” “Reserve funds are the savings accounts of the government world, and they are one tool that governments use during times of economic downturn when revenues are not matching expenses,” St. Helens Communications Officer Crystal King told The Chronicle. “The City of St. Helens
See BUDGET Page A8
The St. Helens City Council will review the proposed 92.5M budget during a public meeting June 7.
Metro Creative Connection
Scappoose tissue plant closing, St. Helens plant limited WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
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ne of the regions largest employers is cutting jobs and reducing services. Cascades Tissue Group has announced that it will cease operations in Scappoose and cut back production in St. Helens, impacting dozens of local workers and the two cities’ economies. Coming closures
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One of the two paper machines at the St. Helens plant will be shutdown.
Beginning in July, Cascades Tissue Group will “progressively close underperforming plants” in Barnwell, South Carolina, and Scappoose, Oregon, according to a release on the company’s website. In addition, Cascades Tissue will also shut down one of the two tissue machines at its St. Helens plant. Cascades filed formal notices of worker layoffs following the announcement in late April, in accordance with the 1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
(WARN). The same day they announced the closures, Cascades filed WARN notices of permanent closure of the plant in Scappoose that would have 88 employees terminated. On May 9, a second WARN notice was filed for a large layoff at the St. Helens Paper Mill that would see 27 workers laid off with recall rights and 18 employees terminated. Scappoose Mayor Joe Backus released a statement following the announcement of the closure in April. “The City of Scappoose is disheartened by the closure of Cascades Tissue and the loss of 94 family-wage jobs in our community. We extend our sincere sympathies to those who will be losing their employment and hope they are able to secure new positions soon,” Backus said. “In the coming days and weeks, we will work closely with our economic development partners with the intent of finding a viable replacement company who will once again offer local employment opportunities in Scappoose.”
Economic impact The Quebec-based company spent $64 million on the 284,000-square-foot Scappoose facility, which is located on a former ranch on West Lane. The plant was completed in 2017. Now, just six years later, the plant will close its doors. Cascades is also the top taxpayer in St. Helens and paid the city $690,417.70 in the fiscal year 20222023. Mayor Rick Scholl said the cuts at the plant will impact the city. “It’s going to affect the economy by reducing property taxes and living wage jobs in the community,” Scholl said. Columbia Economic Team (CET) Executive Director Paul Vogel said that his team is already working with local organizations and Cascades to make a smooth transition for the effected employees, and work to fill
See CASCADES Page A9
Wind Ensemble scores second, Jazz Band off to state WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
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he St. Helens Wind Ensemble band achieved a second-place finish at this year’s state championships, finishing behind only North Bend High School. Opinion ............................. A4 Poll .................................... A4 Obituaries ......................... A5 Classified Ads ................. A6 Legals ............................. A6-7 Crossword ....................... A8 Sports
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“We were really happy with our performance,” Band Director Noelle Freshner said. “We knew North Bend would be fantastic, and they were!” After winning the state championship in the 5 A division last year, the Lions changed classification this year as part of an OSAA restructuring. Competing in the 4 A classification, the band performed at the LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University’s campus on May 10. They finished second of the ten schools represented, and neighbors Scappoose High School finished fifth. Freshner said the end of the year is full of mixed emotions but that it has been a rewarding journey for her and the band. “It’s bittersweet. It’s sad to perform music you have lived with and worked on for so long for the last time. It’s a lot like finishing a good book,” Freshner said. “You are sad to see it come to an end after spending so much time with it. On the other hand, I am also very excited to dig into new music with them for their end-of-the-year concert and to start looking at what next year’s group will look like.” The band’s set included the robust Mount Everest, the Pavanne, as arranged by the middle school Band Director (and Noelle Freshner’s husband), Travis Freshner, and Vesuvius. They also had the highest
Courtesy photo from Noelle Freshner
The Wind Ensemble celebrates its fourth top two finish since 2017.
sightreading score of the day, according to Freshner. Sightreading is the performing of a piece in a music notation that the performer has not seen or learned before. While the band was not able to take home first place this year, Freshner and the band had a great attitude and performed well. They also got to enjoy the music of other top
programs in the state. “I try less to focus on the placement and how they felt about it and more on how we felt when we walked off stage or when we walked out of sightreading,” Freshner said. “They felt good about what they had just done and the work they put in leading up to the event. They were very supportive of all the other 4A
bands that day, cheering after performances and during awards.” Special seniors For Freshner and the Wind Ensemble, performance day was full
See BAND Page A9