consider kbra when you fill out ballot reg lequieu klamath falls 050212

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Consider the KBRA when you fill out your ballot

Herald and News Letter to the Editor May 2, 2012, by Reg LeQuieu, retired Klamath County Assessor

The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and its supporters offer (should the agreement be ratified by Congress and funded) $3.2 million to Klamath County to offset the loss of property tax revenue. That was originally scheduled to be delivered over 10 years at $320,000 per year; now our information indicates it would be delivered over 15 years. That would provide $213,333 per year to Klamath County. Let’s see how that compares to our potential loss.

The John C. Boyle dam and powerhouse now provides $503,802 in property taxes per year.

Under the agreement, 25,000 irrigated acres will be permanently idled in the Upper Basin and 20,000 irrigated acres permanently idled in the Lower Basin. Based on the Farm-Use Study conducted for this year by the Klamath County Assessor’s Office, that will reduce property taxes by another $100,000.

The 90,000 acre tree farm proposed for transfer to the Klamath Tribes now pays $43,547 in property taxes. That also would be lost should the KBRA agreement be ratified and funded by Congress.

That adds up to over $647,349 in lost property tax revenue for county services offset by just $213,333 from the KBRA for a net loss of $434,016 annually. And then, after 15 years, there would be no offset.

Please consider this information as you decide whom to support for Klamath County commissioner, state representative and state senator. For us, Tom Mallams, Jim Bellet, and Gail and Doug Whitsett are the candidates who understand the inadequacies and dangers of the KBRA, and who will best represent Klamath County.

Reg and Carol LeQuieu

Klamath Falls

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