Oregon timber counties face financial collapse

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The loss of federal timber payments is pushing some Oregon counties already suffering from recession toward possible financial collapse.

To make things worse, the Legislature is trying to pare down a projected $3.5 billion state budget shortfall that likely will result in cuts to services that counties provide under shared funding or contracts with state and federal agencies.

Federal timber payments are set to expire in 2012, carving big holes in the budgets of 18 Oregon counties.

The Oregonian reports that if the federal payments expire, some counties simply won’t be viable.

Mike McArthur is executive director of the Association of Oregon Counties. He says there’s no provision for municipal bankruptcy under Oregon law — so counties will simply have to cut back services.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com