01-12-2017 - By STEPHEN FLOYD H&N Staff Reporter - heraldandnews.com
Klamath County expects to receive roughly $32,608 from a $1.4 million federal payout to O&C Lands Act counties.

The funding, from revenue generated by timber harvests on federal land, was withheld in 2016 from annual payouts to O&C counties.
Klamath County Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris said the withholding of funds amounted to fees the government improperly charged to administer the program. The Associated Press reported the funds were withheld at a rate of 7 percent to reduce government spending that year.
The O&C Lands Act, passed by Congress in 1937, set minimum harvesting and revenue-sharing standards for 2.1 million acres of timberland throughout Oregon. The Association of O&C Counties claims the minimums in the act have been unfulfilled by around 75 percent and they are suing the Bureau of Land Management to comply with the act.
Minty Morris said the recent disbursement came after the federal government was pressured by the association, of which she is a board member. Minty Morris said she hopes the release of the funds sets a precedent for future budget cycles, as counties such as Klamath depend on the revenue for public safety.
“It will provide more steady income and more revenue to Klamath County that we need to fund essential services,” she said.