Oct 31, 2023 | AOC Advocacy
On Oct. 12, 2023, three people who lost their homes to foreclosure over unpaid property taxes filed a lawsuit against the counties that foreclosed on them in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. The lawsuit demands refunds of any proceeds of foreclosure sales that exceeded plaintiffs’ debts to Lane, Multnomah, and Yamhill counties, and pertains to sales that took place as far back as May 25, 2017. It seeks to be recognized as a class action on behalf of all similarly situated former homeowners. Counties have been anticipating lawsuits like this one ever since news broke of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Tyler v. Hennepin County.
On May 25, 2023, the high court ruled that a 94-year-old woman should have received a refund from Hennepin County, Minnesota after they foreclosed on her condo over $17,300 in unpaid property tax, interest, and penalties, and sold it for $40,000. Minnesota is among 14 states, including Oregon, where the foreclosure process provides for the delinquent property being forfeited in its entirety. Under Oregon law, counties retained the proceeds of foreclosure sales, even if the proceeds exceed the taxes, interest, and penalties that were owed. The State of Oregon had filed a “friend of the court” brief in the case, defending Hennepin County against the suit. The ruling held that such processes violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
AOC expects that soon every county in Oregon will be targeted by similar lawsuits over foreclosure sales, including sales that may have taken place many years ago. Preliminary discussions with CIS, who provides insurance to most Oregon counties, indicate that none of these losses are likely to be covered by insurance. Considering how tight county budgets are, fears are growing over how counties can possibly afford obligations associated with the lawsuits without making catastrophic cuts to critical services such as libraries, policing, and public health programs, or even going bankrupt. AOC is working with counties now to develop an estimate of county legal liability statewide, and are seeking state funding to assist counties with these costs.
Counties in many other states have already seen similar lawsuits. Last year, Oakland County, Michigan settled a similar case for $38 million, and this spring, forty-three other Michigan counties agreed to settle a similar lawsuit, in an agreement estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars.
Getting state help with these costs was identified by AOC membership as our top priority for the 2024 legislative session in the governance and revenue portfolio, along with limiting liability around future foreclosure sales surpluses and establishing new statewide guidelines for how to handle foreclosures. Most states have laws setting reasonable time limits for filing a claim over foreclosure surpluses, which helps counties avoid surprise claims impacting already-budgeted funds – Oregon does not.
There are some steps counties can take by themselves to limit liability associated with future foreclosure sales, but for every one of Oregon’s 36 counties to develop and enact their own ordinance will be a costly exercise, and having a patchwork of varying approaches across Oregon doesn’t make any sense.
At their September meeting, the AOC Governance and Revenue Steering Committee convened a workgroup to develop a legislative proposal for 2024 that addresses these issues. A group of about a dozen county staff who have legal or property management expertise met on Sept. 18, with Marion County Assistant Legal Counsel Scott Norris leading the group in efforts to craft a draft proposal. AOC is working hard to secure introduction of the proposal as a bill for consideration in the 2024 legislative session.
Contributed by: Michael Burdick | AOC legislative affairs manager
Oct 27, 2023 | Events
Online registration closes Monday, Oct. 30, for AOC’s Annual Conference, held in Lane County, Nov. 14-16. The annual conference draws together a cross section of elected officials, county staff, partners, and other participants for educational opportunities, leadership development, and networking. Attendees from rural and urban counties, large and small, participate in the three-day event aimed at improving residents’ lives and the efficiency of county government.
AOC President and Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot played an integral part in developing this year’s educational programming and finding ways to unite county officials and connect throughout the event. “My focus as AOC president during the 2023 legislative session was to improve the status of counties in the state capitol,” said DeGroot. “Spending six months in Salem reaffirmed my belief that building meaningful relationships is critical to strengthening the state-county partnership and achieving policy solutions that result in efficient and effective delivery of services to the public.”
Concurrent sessions will cover topics ranging from preventing wildfires and cyberattacks to exploring solutions for homelessness, the opioid epidemic, and the mental health crisis.
Also during the conference, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Wyden and Merkley will both step off of the Senate floor for a “couch session” live from Washington D.C., and Brian Miller, a magician turned international speaker on human connection, perspectives, and understanding, will talk on “Connecting with Purpose: How to Magically Connect with Anyone.”
“AOC’s Annual Conference has continued to provide education and networking opportunities for counties for over a century,” commented AOC Executive Director Gina Firman Nikkel, Ph.D. “This unique gathering offers commissioners, judges, chairs, county staff, and partners across the state to come together and explore innovative solutions to county issues, learn from their peers, and develop key relationships. I look forward to this year’s programming lineup which will focus on preventing and solving the top issues that impact counties.”
Online registration closes Monday, Oct. 30.
Please register before Oct. 30, to secure the reduced rate. After Oct. 30, prices will go up, and registration will have to be done on site. Find registration fees and more information on AOC’s conference webpage.
Contributed by: Erin Good | Communications Coordinator
Oct 24, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, Public Safety & Veterans
Many Oregon counties are currently facing a funding shortage for community corrections, reflective of state budgetary allocations not meeting current needs. At its October meeting, the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) Public Safety Steering Committee adopted a 2024 legislative priority advocating for additional one-time funds ($16 million) for community corrections for the remainder of the biennium. These funds are critical to assist counties in maintaining current service levels until a larger conversation and effort can be taken to review and adjust the overall community corrections funding formula.
In 1995, the Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1145, establishing community corrections as a state-county partnership to provide supervision and services to certain offender populations. Through the partnership with the state, counties are reimbursed for individuals in their custody sentenced to 12 or fewer months of incarceration, and individuals on probation, parole, or post-prison supervision. The reimbursement rate to counties is based on a complex formula that considers among other factors: populations, case load forecasting, and risk assessments. A cost study is conducted every six years to inform the reimbursement rate. The latest cost study was conducted in 2018.
Oregon legislators received briefings on this issue in the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, as well as in the Joint Ways and Means Public Safety Subcommittee during September legislative days. The Oregon Association of Community Corrections Directors (OACCD) educated lawmakers on the shifting populations being served by community corrections due to a variety of factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a public defender shortage, and Ballot Measure 110. The presentation also shared concerns that the funding formula was based largely on a point-in-time cost study, without considering inflation or population risk level costs above average. OACCD discussed funding challenges over the last few budget cycles based on this formula. Washington and Lane counties presented firsthand accounts on how the capacity required to serve the community corrections population continues to become increasingly more complex.
Rep. Kropf, House Judiciary Committee Chair, gave legislative blessings for a Department of Corrections facilitated workgroup to begin stakeholder discussions on the current community corrections funding formula with an eye toward the 2025 legislative budget. AOC was allocated three seats on this committee: one staff member and two commissioners. President DeGroot appointed AOC Public Safety Steering Committee Co-chairs, Commissioner Dave Henslee (Klamath) and Commissioner Jeremy Gordon (Polk) to represent AOC on this workgroup. The county perspective will also be shared via workgroup seats allocated to the OACCD.
“Community corrections is a key public safety tool in our communities,” says Commissioner Gordon. “We urge the Oregon Legislature to allocate additional one-time funds to county community corrections for the remainder of this biennium.”
“Looking ahead to future biennia, our steering committee looks forward to thoughtfully collaborating with our community corrections directors, the Oregon Department of Corrections, Oregon legislators, and other partners, as we dive into this complicated formula discussion,” adds Commissioner Henslee.
Contributed by: Jen Lewis-Goff | AOC Legislative Affairs Manager
Oct 24, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, Transportation
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and League of Oregon Cities (LOC) continued the virtual forum series to coordinate, collaborate, and cultivate a shared understanding of local government interests in Oregon’s transportation funding system.
In August, the first forum meeting provided a detailed overview of federal, state, and local funding mechanisms and how these revenue tools work together to fund the current system. Presentations from the Oregon Department of Transportation, AOC County Road Program, and LOC reviewed the current system, with an emphasis on structural deficits and declining fuel tax revenues. A recording is available here.
The second forum meeting, held on Monday, Oct. 2, featured presentations from two city and two county road departments that demonstrated the range of local jurisdiction transportation budgets and varied regional project priorities. A productive brainstorm and strategy discussion followed the presentations. Slides are available here and a recording of the meeting can be found on the League of Oregon Cities YouTube page.
Forum meetings will continue next year to identify priorities and develop guiding principles to inform AOC and LOC engagement in an expected transportation funding package during the 2025 legislative session. Forum conversations will seek to increase transparent, partnership-oriented communication with state agencies, commissions, and the legislature related to transportation funding policy.
Future forum meetings will feature insight from national experts, and an exploration of mechanisms such as congestion pricing and tolling, road usage or vehicle miles traveled fees, and local options.
Contributed by: Mallorie Roberts | AOC Legislative Affairs Director
Oct 24, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, Health & Human Services
Oregon’s homelessness and fentanyl emergencies demand immediate fixes to problems decades in the making. Discussions in the state legislature and at the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) seek policy solutions for meaningful progress in the 2024 short legislative session and beyond.
The Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response was announced by legislative leadership in September in response to widespread dissatisfaction with the implementation and impact of Ballot Measure 110. The committee, led by Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jason Kropf, met for the first time on Oct. 18 and focused on the “demand” side of Oregon’s addiction crisis.
State and national experts provided testimony on substance use trends, prevention and treatment science, and what Oregon’s addiction response system needs to turn the tide. Researcher and clinician Dr. Kimberly Sue presented her findings and recommendations for designing nimble treatment systems for the fentanyl era. Her testimony, along with that of crisis service providers from across the state, underscored the need for immediate response capacity (modeled after police, fire and ambulance response) and smooth transitions for individuals moving through the continuum of care program, from peer-led outreach and harm reduction to detox and crisis stabilization, treatment, supported housing, and recovery services.
Witnesses cited eliminating the excessive administrative burden on existing providers and the red tape that is slowing or preventing the development of new workforce and new treatment facilities as opportunities for immediate improvement to addiction response in Oregon.
Testimony was also given on the efficacy of adequately funded local and statewide prevention initiatives and the lack of proper investment in every level of addiction prevention and response, most acutely in prevention and services for youth. The next committee meeting, on Nov. 6, during regularly scheduled “legislative days,” will focus on the “supply” side of the addiction crisis and public safety interventions.
AOC health and human services’ priorities for the 2024 short legislative session address discrete but key steps to create the responsive, coordinated public safety and health systems required to foster safe livable public spaces and healthy communities. AOC’s first priority is to establish a reliable process and schedule for the state to assess the cost of providing the core mental health and addiction services that counties are statutorily required to provide. Currently, Oregon Health Authority lead staff members do not have cost estimates for these services, and thus are unable to craft an agency recommended budget to match current or projected need.
AOC’s second priority for the 2024 session, a continuation of our 2023 priority, is to mitigate the liability risk shift to counties and their local providers for services to court-mandated populations, such as those persons ordered to community aid and assist restoration services. In the last few years, Oregon has sincerely begun to transition from an institution-based system to a community-based system to serve individuals in court-mandated behavioral health treatment. However, the system is not currently equipped to provide these services without an adequate investment in community service capacity or liability protection for counties and providers who serve a rising number of people, some with more acute and complex medical and mental health needs.
On Oct. 27, AOC will hold a joint meeting of its public safety and health and human services steering committees to prepare for expected efforts to fix Measure 110 in the 2024 session. AOC staff will field reports from public safety and community mental health program partners on current impacts of Measure 110, hear from the proponents of reform proposals currently in the public domain, and listen to member discussion of policy positions that will give Oregon counties the authority and tools they need to be healthy, vibrant, and safe.
AOC has also embarked on a longer-term health and human services summit series which kicked off on Oct. 2, with a dual purpose of elevating and propagating local solutions across the state and preparing counties to offer statewide solutions in the 2025 legislative session and beyond. The next meeting in this ongoing series will be Friday, Nov. 3, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Make sure to attend these educational sessions coming up at the AOC Annual Conference in Eugene, on Nov. 15:
- The Opioid Crisis and the Untapped Potential of Local Public Health Response and Prevention
- The 60th Anniversary of the Community Mental Health Act – Have We Realized the Vision?
- Oregon’s Local Homelessness Response Experiment: Preliminary Findings and Progress
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | AOC Legislative Affairs Manager
