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The Roseburg News Review---November 26, 2006
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has asked the Douglas County Commissioners for comments on the recent application of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians to place a 30-acre parcel of land into federal trust.
Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman said she plans to oppose the plans of the Cow Creeks to place tribal land into federal trust.
By John Sowell
Back from a national conference sponsored by a group looking to reform federal Indian policy, Douglas County Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman said she plans to continue to fight against allowing the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians to place tribal land into federal trust.
At last Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Commissioners, Kittelman said the tribe enjoys a competitive advantage over other landowners when it no longer has to pay property taxes on land placed in trust. But it goes beyond that, she said.
"It's not just about taxes. It's about jurisdiction. It's about unfair business advantage. This is really a fundamental fairness question," Kittelman said. "It's about unfair competition."
The issue came up after the board received a letter from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs asking for comment on the tribe's application to place a 30-acre parcel north of Myrtle Creek into trust. The property, located just off Interstate 5, is occupied by the Rivers West South Umpqua Campground, which caters to recreational vehicles.
Kittelman offered a motion to oppose the land transfer into trust. It died for lack of a second from fellow Commissioners Doug Robertson and Dan Van Slyke.
Van Slyke had opposed earlier applications from the tribe.
He withdrew his opposition over the summer after the tribe agreed to meet with any taxing districts that might be negatively affected by a loss of property tax revenue from the tribe.
Pauline Clayton, who owns a ranch across the freeway from Rivers West, said she objected to the loss of $12,491 in property taxes that the tribe currently pays on that parcel.
"My taxes are already high. I don't want to see them go higher," Clayton said. "If the tribe has so much money they're buying up such a huge portion of Douglas County, why don't they just pay the taxes?"
The tribe has more than 4,000 acres of land in trust. Its holdings account for less than 2 percent of tax-exempt property in the county.
When property is taken off the property tax rolls, it does not cause taxes to rise for other landowners, however. It only affects the taxing districts such as schools, fire districts, road districts and cities and the county, which share property tax revenues.
Robertson and Van Slyke said they would like to solicit comments from the five taxing districts that would be affected if the Rivers West property is taken into trust and include them with a response from the county.
"We need to respond," Robertson said.
Wayne Shammel, the attorney for the tribe, said he met with representatives from the taxing districts last month and they didn't have any objections to placing the property in trust.
He said he expects county officials would hear the same message if they quiz the districts.
Last week, Kittelman attended a two-day conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by One Nation United. The group, whose president, David Jaques, is a close advisor to Kittelman and serves as director of the Douglas County Planning Commission, opposes sovereignty rights granted to tribes by the federal government.
Kittelman said she served on a panel discussion, and after the conference spoke to a deputy official with the Department of the Interior about concerns she has with the tribal trust program.
Kittelman was registered to attend the weeklong conference of the Association of Oregon Counties in Eugene, but opted to go to Washington instead. The county paid $285 in registration fees and meals on her behalf for the AOC conference, said Sandee Correll, the county's chief financial officer.
At Wednesday's Board of Commissioners meeting, Clayton and other speakers criticized Robertson and Van Slyke for signing the agreement with the tribe. They said it served no practical purpose. Kittelman noted that the tribe had shown its willingness to meet with affected taxing districts even before the agreement was signed in July.
If the tribe in the future refuses to meet with the taxing districts, it would give the county a reason to oppose further applications for taking land into trust, Robertson said.
"That's the value of it," Robertson said.
Shammel questioned why Kittelman has continued to oppose the tribe's activities.
"It sounds to me like an effort to import discontent that people have had elsewhere. We haven't had those issues here," he said.