Most of the proposed paid family leave bills died midway through the Oregon Legislature, but one remains—and it’s likely to hurt small businesses. Many lawmakers have been making a promise to provide workers with paid family leave for births, adoptions, and other medically necessary time off, and introduced legislation to do so. Under current law,…
There are thousands of vacant state employee positions where no one is working but the position still receives funding. At one point Oregon had 4,475 vacant positions. That is more than 10% of the entire state workforce. Vacant positions cost the state nearly 300 million in tax dollars. State Representative Gene Whisnant has been working…
Corvallis-to-Newberg 10-mile road costs went from $129 million to $365 million due to cost over-runs, landslides, and other problems. They had to tear down bridge pillars they just built. (KATU-2 5-20-2014)
Oregon has doled out $968 million in energy business taxes to various energy companies, many of which have gone bankrupt or are being investigated for fraud. (Portland Tribune 6-23-2015)
The government unions fought changes in the courts to their state pension plan which will now cost taxpayers $345 million more a year. Government unions have been resisting any changes to their PERS pension system which is over $10 billion in debt. (Oregonian 5-30-2015)
After spending $586 million in projected costs, instead of 300 new emergency towers (OWIN) as budgeted, Oregon taxpayers got a grand total of 30 repaired or new towers.
Portland has agreed to unionize 80 seasonal park workers which will cost taxpayers $2 million more in additional costs. It will cost the city $25,000 more per employee. (Oregonian 7-17-2015)
Taxpayers spent over $200 million studying the Columbia River Crossing Bridge, from Portland to Vancouver, that was never built and mired in controversy.
Portland’s most expensive employee, (chief administrator $371,000) was fired and awarded a $192,000 severance. (Oregonian 4-24-2015) Portland alone has paid $5 million to terminated employees. After having problems with the City Council, the West Linn city manager left with a $120,000 severance. (Oregonian 8-12-2015) An audit faulted Portland’s Environmental Bureau Director for wasting $3 million…
Cover Oregon offered as much as $650,000 to 160 employees not to leave the failed website project.