(a) "Department" means the Department of Revenue.
(b) "Expenditures" has the meaning given the term for purposes of ORS 294.305 to 294.565 and may be further defined by rule of the department. "Expenditures" does not include any item or class of items that cannot reasonably be allocated to an organizational unit.
(c) "Expenditures for assessment and taxation" means expenditures for any of the activities, functions or services required of a county in the assessment, equalization, levy, collection or distribution of property taxes under ORS chapters 305, 306, 307, 308, 308A, 309, 310, 311, 312 and 321. "Expenditures for assessment and taxation" specifically includes expenditures for appraising county-appraised industrial property, if the responsibility for making the appraisal has been delegated by the department to a county assessor under ORS 306.126 (3).
(d) "Grant" has the meaning given the term for purposes of ORS 294.305 to 294.565, and is further described under ORS 294.178.
(2) On or before May 1 of each year, each county shall file with the department a true copy of its estimates of expenditures for assessment and taxation for the ensuing year as prepared for purposes of ORS 294.388 but in accordance with any rules adopted by the department.
(3) Upon receipt of the estimate, the department shall review the estimate to determine its adequacy to provide the resources needed to achieve compliance with ORS 308.232 and 308.234, ORS chapter 309 and other laws requiring equality and uniformity in the system of property taxation within the county in order that the same equality and uniformity may be achieved throughout the state.
(4) If, upon initial review of the estimate, the department determines that the proposed expenditures, or any of them, are not at the level or of the type needed to achieve adequacy, the department shall notify the county governing body. The notice shall contain an explanation of the reasons for the determination and may describe specific items or classifications of expenditure which the department has determined are required, or are not required, in order to achieve adequacy. The notice shall fix the date upon which a conference with the county governing body or representatives of the county governing body shall be held.
(5)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, if, upon initial review, or upon or after conference held on the date specified in the notice under subsection (4) of this section, or another date or dates convenient to the department and the county governing body, the department determines that the expenditures as initially filed, or that the expenditures as agreed upon at the conference, are at the level and of the type needed to achieve adequacy for that year or over a period of years under a plan presented as described under ORS 294.181, the department shall certify to the county governing body that its estimate of expenditures for assessment and taxation so determined are adequate and that the county will be included in the computation made under ORS 294.178 for the purpose of determining the amount of that county’s quarterly grant. The department shall include in the certification an estimate of the percentage share of the funds available in the County Assessment Function Funding Assistance Account that the county will receive under ORS 294.178 and an estimate of the total amount of the grant that will be forthcoming to the county from that account for the ensuing year on account of the certification.
(b) The department shall not certify expenditures under this subsection that the department determines are in excess of the expenditures necessary to meet the requirements of subsection (3) of this section.
(6) Any certification issued under subsection (5) of this section shall be issued as of the June 15 following the filing of the estimate of expenditures under subsection (2) of this section. If, as of June 15, agreement has not been reached between the department and the county governing body upon the estimate, the department shall issue a denial of certification.
(7) A county may appeal the determination of the department under subsection (5)(b) of this section or the denial of certification issued under subsection (6) of this section to the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. Appeal shall be filed within 10 days after the date that the denial of certification is issued. The sole issue upon appeal shall be the adequacy of expenditures for assessment and taxation as filed with the department under subsection (2) of this section, and the determination, if any, made by the department under subsection (5)(b) of this section. If the Oregon Department of Administrative Services does not issue an order approving the expenditures before July 1 of the fiscal year for which the expenditures are proposed, the certification for purposes of ORS 294.175 to 294.187 shall be considered denied. [1989 c.796 §2; 1995 c.748 §11; 1997 c.782 §2; 1999 c.314 §88; 2003 c.169 §9; 2015 c.36 §5; 2017 c.26 §8]