Wasco County staff voice support for placing $15 million Google SIP dollars in proposed endowment

Following nearly two hours of favorable testimony at a Sept. 2 county board meeting, commissioners decided to postpone voting on the ordinance to enact the plan, scheduling another hearing at 9:30 a.m. at the next county board meeting on Sept. 16.

Commissioner Rodger Nichols, selected by the board to fill out the late Commissioner Phil Brady’s remaining term, recommended the delay in response to several requests from residents during the public comment period.

"I'm very convinced that this is something we absolutely have to do, but I also remember I'm replacing a guy who was revered throughout the county,” he said, recalling his personal commitment to vote with Commissioner Brady’s tendencies in mind. “They would want to do exactly as you suggested, wait for three weeks, make adjustments on it as we need to, and vote on it on that day, because I want everybody to have a chance to think about it."

Where did this money come from?

In a “myth vs. fact” presentation, Community Development Director Kelly Howsley-Glover emphasized that the $15 million of the county’s contribution to this fund doesn’t represent all of the Google abatement money.

“Other community partners — like fire districts and schools — receive separate distributions for immediate needs and core services — more than 75% of allocation,” reads the presentation slide.

The Strategic Investment Program (SIP) money comes from four components of taxes and fees Design, LLC, a subsidiary of Google, agreed to pay as part of receiving a 15-year tax abatement from the city and county.

Those components are:

1. A taxable portion of each data center based on the total investment cost.
2. A community service fee based on 25% of Design, LLC’s tax savings, capped at $2.5 million.
3. An initial payment of $3 million per data center.
4. A guaranteed annual payment, which fills in whatever’s left so that all the components add up to 50% of the full tax for the first data center and 60% for the second.

According to the Wasco County Budget for 2026-2027, the current holdings containing all tax abatement and SIP money, known as the County Project Fund, is projected to increase from $17.7 million in 2026 to $27.1 million in 2027.

Finance Director Mike Middleton explained that this County Project Fund from which the $15 million will be allocated is already separate from the rest of the county’s budget.

“It's not going to impact the capital reserve accounts we already have. Nothing's going to come out of any other fund,” he said.

The endowment fund won’t absorb all the abatement revenue, Tax Assessor Jill Amery said. “It's only this last portion, which we call the guaranteed annual payment, that is being talked about to put in the endowment fund. So there's a lot of other money flowing through the districts."

Seeking to avoid future hardship

Several county staff members pointed to other counties, public entities and even Wasco County’s past and current financial straits to illustrate their desire to save and invest the money.

Sheriff Lane Magill, employed for 24 years at Wasco County, pointed to financial hardships in Coos County and Curry County as well as local institutions like NORCOR due to budgetary shortfalls, emphasizing the need to act on this “once in a lifetime opportunity” to create long term revenue.

“This is pay now, play later,” he said. “Play now, pay later."

Youth Services Director Molly Rogers, an employee of Wasco County for 24 years, recounted the financial ups and downs in her tenure, noting that her department currently is half the size from when she started.

“I won't be here in 15 years to kind of reap the benefits of what we're doing, but somebody in my department will,” Rogers said. "Let us do right by the citizens of Wasco County in the future."

County Administrator Tyler Stone recalled a series of layoffs enacted during his first year at the county to address a $2 million deficit.

“Coming out of that process, it was one of those scenarios where I don't ever want to have to do this again,” he said, advocating for the endowment.

What about other uses for the money?

While nearly all residents who gave public comment spoke favorably about the concept of an endowment, several expressed concern for immediate needs in the county.

“I commend you on being forward thinking, but would also suggest that there are some urgent needs that shouldn't wait 15 years,” wrote The Dalles resident Dean Myerson.

Lisa Gambee, former Wasco County Clerk and candidate for Commissioner Position 1, submitted an alternate proposal creating two separate funds, one endowment and one special projects fund splitting the tax abatement revenue between short term use and long-term investment. County staff and leadership pushed back against Gambee’s framing.

"Don't get the idea that if we do this, we're going to put all our eggs in one basket and we won't have anything else to do,” said Commission Chair Scott Hege. “We will have a significant amount of resources to do other things with."

Maupin resident Kim Mead said all the numbers in the presentations were making her head spin. “I do totally support investing in the future,” she said. “I just request that citizens of Wasco County have the opportunity to be educated on this procedure."

Other residents voiced full support, like Shelly Dean from Mozier, who said, “I'm retired today because of the power of compounding interest. So let's get on board, right?"

The next hearing for the Wasco County Endowment and Resiliency fund will be on Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m. at 401 E Third St., The Dalles, or online at www.wascocounty.gov.