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Illinois Valley Airport finances and leases

Josephine County, Oregon·Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.311–192.478)
filed July 19, 2026 ·open ·1 document, 4 pages
$780 quoted ·waiver denied, upheld on review
#illinois-valley-airport #josephine-county #oregon-public-records #fee-waiver #airport-finances Initially quoted $1,275 for 15 hours at a managerial rate. After challenge the County found a staff-classification error and revised it to $780 (14.5 hours clerical at $50 plus 0.5 hours legal at $110). A fee reduction under ORS 192.324(5) was denied, and the district attorney declined to order one. The County offered items 1, 2 and 5 for $80, which was accepted; payment by cheque was outstanding as of August 14, 2026.
  1. // 2026
  2. JUL 19

    Request submitted through the County's online form

    filed

    Five items concerning the Illinois Valley Airport (FAA identifier 3S4) at Cave Junction, the airports manager's employment agreement and job description; the general ledger detail for the airport fund for FY 2025–26; maintenance invoices, work orders and receipts for the same period; all active leases and use agreements with the current rate schedule; and any appraisal or broker opinion of value since 2021. The request asked for an itemised estimate by numbered item if fees would exceed $25.

  3. JUL 20

    County quotes $1,275

    fee

    Estimated at roughly 15 hours, billed at $85 per hour of managerial staff time. The estimate was not itemised.

  4. JUL 20

    Estimate challenged and a fee reduction requested

    note

    Reply asked again for the per-item breakdown, questioned the managerial rate for what is largely clerical retrieval, noted that a single-cost-centre ledger export should take well under an hour and that the County's own budget describes newly implemented lease-tracking software, and requested a reduction under ORS 192.324(5) on the ground that the records concern the finances of a public asset.

  5. JUL 22

    Estimate corrected to $780, fee reduction denied

    fee

    The County declined to itemise, but acknowledged an error in the original calculation. A staff member had been billed at a managerial rate they no longer held, and revised the figure to $780 (14.5 hours clerical at $50, plus 0.5 hours legal at $110). The fee reduction was denied in a single sentence, with no reasoning.

  6. JUL 22

    Notice of petition to the district attorney

    appealed

    The County was notified of a petition under ORS 192.324(6) and ORS 192.415 and asked to hold the request open, citing ORS 192.329(3).

  7. JUL 23

    County holds the request open and offers a partial release

    note

    The County agreed to hold the request pending the district attorney's decision, and offered items 1, 2 and 5 for $80. Half an hour of clerical time plus half an hour of legal review.

  8. AUG 09

    Petition filed with the Josephine County District Attorney

    appealed

    Petition under ORS 192.324(6) and ORS 192.415 argued the denial was unreasonable, that the records concern the financial administration of public property, that disclosure primarily benefits taxpayers and airport users rather than any commercial interest, that the one-sentence denial showed no consideration of the statutory test in In Defense of Animals v. OHSU, and that a $495 error in the original estimate and a subsequent offer to produce three items for one hour of staff time undercut the County's cost figures under ORS 192.324(4)(a) and Bong v. Douglas ESD.

  9. AUG 10 · 2 notes
    1. AUG 10

      District attorney asks the County to reconsider first

      note

      The district attorney observed that the petition set out facts the County did not have when it denied the waiver, the intended use of the records and the means of disseminating them, and said the County should evaluate the request again in the first instance before he weighed in.

    2. AUG 10

      Requester's interest stated for the record

      note

      Clarified for the County as a pilot who has flown into the airport and intends to move to the area and base an aircraft there, an airport user and prospective resident, not a business and not a party to any dispute with the County.

  10. AUG 11

    County reaffirms the denial, with written analysis

    denied

    On review the County again found no waiver or reduction warranted, this time providing a written analysis. Staff added that the question was whether nearly two full days of staff time should be done for free or at a significantly reduced rate, and that they did not see a sufficient public benefit to justify it.

    open →
  11. AUG 13

    District attorney declines to order a reduction

    appeal decision

    The district attorney found no basis to order the County to reduce the fee, holding the denial reasonable under the totality of the circumstances given the generalised nature of the public interest and the requester's limited ability to disseminate the records, distinguishing an investigative journalist, citing Judicial Watch v. Rossotti, and relying on the County's analysis of its amended fee.

  12. AUG 13 – AUG 14 · 2 notes
    1. AUG 13

      Partial release accepted at $80

      note

      With the fee question settled, the County's offer of items 1, 2 and 5 for $80 was accepted, with a spreadsheet export requested for the ledger.

    2. AUG 14

      County provides payment instructions

      note

      The County agreed to try for a spreadsheet export and asked for a cheque. Records are to be compiled and reviewed for release once payment arrives. Nothing has been released yet.

ⓘ Documents are unaltered agency releases. The timelines, titles, descriptions and summaries around them are written by Claude from those records and checked by me.

Correspondence with Josephine County, Oregon under the Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.311–192.478). The County marks its own email as a public record subject to disclosure. Note that 17 U.S.C. § 105, which places federal works outside copyright, does not apply to state or county records.

Released documents occasionally contain material an agency didn't intend to release, or third-party work that isn't a government record. If something here shouldn't be, tell me and I'll take it down. george.main@gemiv.net

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