Commissioner Hamsher explains Grant Co. Road Service District ballot measure
By Logan Bagett on Monday, October 30th, 2023 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY – Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher was on KJDY’s Coffee Time to explain the Grant County Road Service District ballot measure that would appropriate funding for the district.
Commissioner Hamsher said Oregon House Bill 2174 allows a county to redirect Support Rural Schools (SRS) payments to a road service district, among other entities.
According to Hamsher, if passed, the Grant County ballot measure would allow the county to utilize an extra quarter million dollars of federal PILT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) funding for the general fund, with no extra burden on local taxpayers:
“If we bring the SRS payments directly to the county, they deduct a portion of our prior-year SRS payments away from our PILT. So, by setting up a road service district, which we’ve already set up—what the ballot measure is just says how it operates.
The funds will be used exactly how they’re being used today, but they go to the Road Service District instead of directly to the county. What that’ll do for us, that brings in an additional $250,000 in PILT payments [so] we can provide services for our county.”
Commissioner Hamsher said that since the extra $250,000 will go into the county’s general fund, it can help fund law enforcement and other county services without adding taxes to Grant County residents. He said if folks have further questions, they can call him on his county commissioner line at (541) 620-8069.
Listen to the full podcast here:
