9 September 2014
City issues enumerated
Interim City Manager Larry Patterson has produced a list of what he’s calling “active major issues” facing the City of Florence in the coming months.
Patterson has been serving in the interim role since June when the former manager, Jacque Betz, left to take a similar position in Newberg. Finding a permanent replacement for Betz is number one on Patterson’s list of 13 items; a list he developed for whomever is selected.
Number two is gaining approval of a split three-cent/five-cent fuel tax to help pay for street repairs; that’s followed by number three… finding a permanent Police Chief. The former chief, Ray Guttierrez, retired in December of last year. Betz had said she wanted to find a replacement before her departure, but was unable to do so. That’s likely to be the first priority when a new city manager is selected.
Number four on the list is crafting a city ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries and number five on the list is resolving the Rhododendron Multi-Use Path conflict.
Finances, economic development and emergency planning
That list of 13 items facing Florence in the coming months goes deeper than the first five listed a few moments ago.
Several of them are related to money, including finding a sustainable source of funding for the Florence Events Center; recovering costs associated with the Spruce Street Local Improvement District and Systems Development Charge payments from the Boys and Girls Club.
The other five items include developing an economic strategy for the community; streamlining the co-adoption process of city and Lane County Comprehensive plans; renewing the Charter TV Franchise and developing a waterfront park on Rhododendron Drive.
Number 13 on the list is working with the West Lane Emergency Operations Group on updating the community’s emergency management plan.
Emergency Services Plan to get update
That updated emergency operations plan for the area will be developed; and it will be coordinated more closely with Lane County’s overall emergency efforts.
The West Lane Emergency Operations Group received notice last week that it will receive $40-thousand from the Oregon State Homeland Security Grant Program. Siuslaw Valley Fire Chief, in relating the news to we-log members, called the grant “really good news” for Western Lane County.
The operations group is made up of representatives from emergency response agencies, schools, city and county government, as well as some private agencies.
Another issue for Cover Oregon
Cover Oregon, the state’s embattled health care exchange, is trying to sort out its latest conundrum.
Employees at the exchange used the wrong formula to calculate tax credits for some individuals and families enrolled in private health plans.
That means many of those people were undercharged.
The challenge right now is in trying to figure out who those people are and how much they owe.
In Oregon, about 80-percent of the 67,500 people who applied for the coverage qualified for a tax credit.
Cover Oregon Executive Director Aaron Patnode says the error is limited to those who purchased non-standard plans that cover alternative care beyond the ten essential health benefits mandated under the Affordable Care Act… benefits such as acupuncture and chiropractic care.
Patnode says some who bought standard plans in Marion and Polk counties are also affected.
