County to consider funding for city infrastructure project
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, November 9th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners will vote on establishing a revolving fund for the city of Pendleton at its meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 a.m. The fund would help the city build the infrastructure necessary to accommodate as many as 1,000 new housing units on undeveloped land.
“While the city has identified the potential for more than a thousand new residences, a key hurdle is developing the streets, sewer system, water, and so forth to enable developers to move ahead,” Board Chairman George Murdock wrote in describing the agenda item.
The fund would begin with $2 million. It is hoped that additional funding could be added as things progress. Murdock said that while the city would administer the funds, it would do so with strict requirements.
“The money can only be used for its intended purpose and not to support any other needs in the city, including being diverted for balancing the budget,” he stated. “This is because it is intended for economic development and will be paid for by the results of previous SIP and Enterprise Zone agreements elsewhere in the county.”
Pendleton will have to submit an annual report to the county detailing how the funds are being used and forecasts for the future. In addition, if approved, when the work is complete if any money remains in the fund, it must be returned to the county.
“In recent years, the county has been involved in numerous development agreements that incentivize large new investments, but which also come with tax agreements that initially reduce tax obligations,” Murdock wrote. “They do, however, also come with significant payments in lieu of taxes to the county. While much of those payments are primarily directed toward economic development projects in the communities where the growth is occurring, the county also realizes that when the total tax receipts of the county are reduced, in fairness, some of those funds need to be distributed in other communities.”
