[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6019647,"mediaKeyId","5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3","parentId",5771538,"title","Talent council adopts updated fee schedule; removes utility-rate items and alters public-records provision","audioSeconds",1749,"startMs",4639000,"endMs",6388000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3&start=4639&end=6388","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3/thumbnail_4639000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6019647/Talent/Jackson-County/Oregon/Talent-council-adopts-updated-fee-schedule-removes-utility-rate-items-and-alters-public-records-provision","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6019647-5de72647b90386bf791871316a21cf4e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770789921&Signature=dFWrHHsndMNVV6TyqP8BphuXav4T5nWQJ~Ax7EsRGas7~dtHcuGtt-a8FeBTF8mzRK9mk2FTkoy8B8fzQicHejM-EkvMvlrLv-AAPIja75icrGUjD81N1JP4h31T72EHJbZ6tM2MkSGPV2aDmKnZTyjzCn05WzArPoyi9gu1Qc1u6Rb~1Tk9RvCxOybUtM~0V2kOvN1f-X42ACIIVHNyR~ABY4pIE1igXXkpENUhquDwHKOmhgQ1LvKziJbvYVVZu6vwvtZfCl5P2M9MhylAX3ZxrTrc5UH5q3iF8LzmA-Z9zDRJ~1jqYPTrUpPIpE6Sc2v4Y1Gp7v5PCCXXHU7DVA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Talent, OR","date","2025-07-18T17:10:28Z","article","The Talent City Council adopted a consolidated fee schedule for fiscal year 2025'26 on July 2 after debate over indexing, cost recovery, and several specific line items.

Staff presented an updated community development fee schedule and other administrative fees. Council discussed whether indexing alone had been sufficient given recent inflation and whether the city should aim to recover fully loaded staff costs in fee rates.

Key amendments incorporated into the adopted resolution included removing the utility-fee section from the resolution so it can be addressed separately, deleting the line that allowed up to 30 minutes of public-records research time to be provided \"free,\" and setting the conditional use permit and variance fees at $1,250 each (staff had proposed that increase from 2020 levels). The council also directed that other fees be evaluated for full cost recovery over time.

On the public-records item, staff and the city attorney's office clarified that the policy allows fee waivers in the public interest and that practice can continue under clear criteria; councilors asked staff to return with fully loaded hourly rates for record search and administrative time to better recover costs. Staff earlier suggested $40 per hour for research time in the schedule but also said fees for other departments would use the actual staff classification rate where appropriate.

The council approved the resolution adopting the fee schedule, as amended, by roll call vote. Staff said they will follow up with a near-term assessment of fees to ensure fees better reflect fully loaded staff costs and return with recommendations as part of the budget process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Council Regular Meeting, July 2, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Council voted July 2 to adopt a consolidated fee schedule for fiscal 2025-26 with amendments: utility fee items removed for separate action, the 30-minute free public-records research clause removed, and increases to conditional-use and variance fees.","taxTitle","Talent, Jackson County, Oregon","taxId",70340,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6019652,"Council directs staff to seek new peer grant activity to allow public building for gateway hub",1412,3060000,4472000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3&start=3060&end=4472","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3/thumbnail_3060000.jpg","/articles/6019652/Talent/Jackson-County/Oregon/Council-directs-staff-to-seek-new-peer-grant-activity-to-allow-public-building-for-gateway-hub","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6019652-c7fddd7d05dd3f20ef1c1d30c15957d7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770789921&Signature=WrsFNcWZ8H7RKQtPOcTw7YIRtCGIiKTaVYzAqgtaPJr3e8knTWmDagKo7sgNOaOGnsYqYac~dQwr-GGa~E7-2ID4YMc47E4-5trxmY8YbDmrVrzEK1pRe4vBKAkNKQv~tB7AEDxONJGboO4zDs4Tf8XaWU3SH8hgU-XzKpjz341CaLb551Xc9aEBudGCW2UQ8oI15f4zk-YocVNn1c5z1PczGXpUGMRTIsF3tJh-Qes6tV58X~VB0sYpM4MyXrl~RJLuXdIjzDkFHrxMfwSDWts2zfkvru7D3pagshtLQnFyBqcos944zWdlY79Uj7-fillepKVzk4QYhza5gnuOMA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Talent City Council on July 2 directed staff to request that the regional peer committee authorize a new activity under the city's CDBG peer grant that would allow use of funds to construct a public building to house a business incubator or gateway hub.

Staff reviewed two alternatives discussed previously: (1) spend existing infrastructure-eligible grant funds on public infrastructure that would support the site, or (2) ask Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) to add an economic-development activity that would authorize construction of a building for a business incubator. Staff said OHCS responded to questions about reporting and eligibility and clarified how low- and moderate-income (LMI) job tests would be applied to incubator tenants.

Staff told the council OHCS's guidance was that businesses whose employees are regularly on-site count toward the LMI job calculation; businesses with employees working entirely off-site would not be counted. Staff also reported OHCS clarified that dedicated on-site building components (foundation, footings, parking specific to the building) generally count as part of the building cost and not eligible as separate infrastructure under the existing activity; public infrastructure off-site and shared parking might be eligible as infrastructure.

Councilors asked whether federalization (using federal CDBG dollars) raises costs due to Davis-Bacon/prevailing-wage and related rules. Staff said federal funding does increase costs in several ways but noted much of the environmental review for the site has already been completed; they also said the commercial construction prevailing-wage differential is generally less severe than on residential projects.

Staff presented simple cost illustrations: a 2,500-square-foot commercial incubator built at $500 per square foot would cost about $1.25 million for the building alone, plus site-prep and other costs, bringing a likely total into the $1.5 million to $2 million range.

After discussion, a councilor moved and the council seconded a motion directing staff to request that OHCS create a new economic development activity under the city's peer grant to allow construction of a public building; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all members present voting yes.

Councilors and staff agreed that if the peer committee denied the requested amendment, the grant funds would remain in the existing infrastructure activity and staff would pursue infrastructure-level uses that comply with the grant, and that staff would continue feasibility and market studies in parallel as the peer process proceeds.","Council voted to ask Oregon Housing & Community Services' peer committee to add an economic development activity to the city's CDBG peer grant so the grant could support construction of a public building (gateway hub/incubator); staff described federal rules and LMI job tests.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6019657,"Talent council discusses expanding collection, potential rate increase for transient lodging tax",1277,1632000,2909000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3&start=1632&end=2909","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3/thumbnail_1632000.jpg","/articles/6019657/Talent/Jackson-County/Oregon/Talent-council-discusses-expanding-collection-potential-rate-increase-for-transient-lodging-tax","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6019657-3dfb8d153a6d770fb2ab99e481777364/orig.mp4?Expires=1770789921&Signature=K8RoicteW9OxUNPSCBjC9zPZTQWuicrU~V81h3Vaad6AtEAoi7wldgLyekqkvNlBTnxKJ0nYkL1qg7877P2RTi~caF1xiGBdxq-GA4R2OHfKG9pRJIYkwcsWfWaMu7j~EHo2STATJw0qRRwGo06mD~nWc2K3iCW5bmThwwEkg2Lv-rJzvHD3mhP2628HRCPKDQRHNWHbO9ADpAnj8wfr2RObMND0Awr6mlnLegSw~KZBkgth4kyH3eq9bELOVxVs-UEDgjE0SVec9JRpnnql3ZThCqpyJgpN27reFCVkQkTupIPuYN-Z2Og~UzP3jFeyPwMXlXPAbLXejDgbddhDEg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff asked the Talent City Council on July 2 for direction on whether to pursue changes to local transient lodging tax (TLT) collection and on how council would like any increased revenue to be used.

City Manager Alex explained the city's current local TLT dates to 1992 and that state law changes in 2018'19 authorized taxing intermediaries such as Airbnb. The city has not yet acted to collect through those new statutory channels, limiting collections, Alex said.

Alex said staff's two recommended steps were: 1) update local code to add transient lodging intermediaries so platform bookings are taxable locally, and 2) sign an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Oregon Department of Revenue (staff referred to the state collection system) for the state to collect local TLT on the city's behalf. Alex told the council that the Department of Revenue said it typically needs about 90 days after a signed agreement to begin collecting on a jurisdiction's behalf.

Councilors discussed whether to raise Talent's TLT rate from the current 6 percent. Multiple councilors said they would support raising the rate to 10 percent or 11 percent to align more closely with neighboring Ashland, while others emphasized deciding how new funds would be spent.

Councilor Byers and others urged that if revenues grow the money be used primarily for parks and community livability — weed and blackberry abatement, park maintenance, and long-deferred projects such as tennis-court replacement — so current residents would benefit. Several councilors and members of the public proposed using revenue for place-making and events, with multiple councilors specifically naming the Talent Harvest Festival as a possible ongoing beneficiary.

Councilor Panomarev noted the public is generally more accepting of a tax when its purpose is clear and suggested dedicating funds to events or other 'visitor-attraction' categories. Councilor Coley said an IGA for state collection made sense and supported raising the rate to 10 percent.

Alex estimated current annual TLT revenue at about $5,000 and said staff is optimistic that code changes plus state collection could raise that amount; he asked council whether the current 6 percent rate should be retained. The council gave clear direction that staff should draft code to allow state collection and return with proposed ordinance language and options on rate and allocation of revenue.

No formal ordinance amending the tax rate was adopted at the meeting; staff will return with draft code and recommendations for allocation and implementation timelines.","Council members supported pursuing state collection via an intergovernmental agreement and several expressed interest in raising Talent's transient lodging tax from 6% to 10% or 11%, with possible uses focused on events and parks.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6019662,"Talent council approves Axon contract for shared police records system",618,991000,1609000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3&start=991&end=1609","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5771538-72a7a8877c9cdb1e74c8e59839e536c3/thumbnail_991000.jpg","/articles/6019662/Talent/Jackson-County/Oregon/Talent-council-approves-Axon-contract-for-shared-police-records-system","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6019662-ba36ee732d75b59ae8affc649e1309f7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770789921&Signature=bQj4~Hsg9UUbgNDYUkGUfZ7EwIvaJEszimSgiHTCWNW3VcotAFriyXMz9fxfeNCzMxnpQ0mOI2ajRmwVPfJpAsvEXhoRZbtAgObme4Kip-n6IrAvKcmv1s4Vy4jdWaD3zXotWNaDaVV7JEYneGRnkEl88Tzf5ZAfTH-zNmX3tkvnXF6Th0HvUro1RyJg2v6cfhouk5Bjayc7El7D~pRv5svk2GDx7dVGsRDIZjkZoz7tekdxftRqiyvX2ILCQ6SvAgzdFow-AF9IoxffHYk6yMVBrxikt8pz3acimAjXfHqO7jakGQmnlo7N7JpWSAPeoahKKEtghhwqh66ntjSkIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Talent City Council on July 2 voted to approve the city's share of a countywide records management system from Axon Enterprises, a contract staff said will replace an outdated local records system and allow regional evidence sharing.

City Manager Alex said the city could not afford an independent records management system and that a shared system would improve investigative efficiency. That, Alex said, was a key reason staff recommended the Axon contract.

Council and staff described the contract as a multi-jurisdiction effort that bundles records management with other Axon services. Police representatives and staff told the council the city's current records system is outdated and that the Axon package would streamline report writing and evidence management.

Police Chief (unidentified) told the council, “in reading the staff report, it would be cost prohibitive for us to have our own independent records management system. And there's value into having a county wide system to where, for investigative purposes, assist with, you know, those cases as well.” The chief also said the system now being adopted \"basically writes your report off your body camera,\" describing an AI-assisted workflow some agencies are testing.

Councilors asked about the additional, optional Axon AI capability that drafts incident reports from body-camera recordings and whether local agencies in the county are using that feature. The chief and other staff said Medford and Eagle Point have trialed the AI product; Jackson County is testing it; the state police use a different system and would not share the same platform.

Staff said the full Axon package that includes Axon AI and equipment upgrades would cost substantially more: roughly $30,000 per year more than the records-only option, according to staff's presentation, and that the city would not be billed for the new records system until July 1, 2027 to allow time for transition planning. Staff also estimated a modest annual savings (about $4,200) from consolidating several services with one vendor.

The council voted on a motion to approve the contract with Axon Enterprises for the city's portion of a shared records management system. Roll-call votes recorded all councilors present voting yes; the mayor declared the motion carried.

Councilors and staff said they expect the vendor to have on-site support during the go-live period, that historical evidence will be migrated to the new system, and that the countywide approach should reduce duplicative data-entry work and free officers for patrol duties.

The Axon contract approval establishes the city's participation in the shared system. Councilors signaled interest in returning later to consider the optional Axon AI package, budget permitting.","The Talent City Council voted unanimously July 2 to join a countywide records management system run by Axon Enterprises; councilors discussed potential future purchase of Axon's AI report-writing tool and budget timing.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Talent council adopts updated fee schedule; removes utility-rate items and alters public-records provision

Council directs staff to seek new peer grant activity to allow public building for gateway hub

Talent council discusses expanding collection, potential rate increase for transient lodging tax

Talent council approves Axon contract for shared police records system