By Alex Paul
Linn County Communications
At their first meeting of the new year on Jan. 6, Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Oregon Youth Authority which will reimburse the Juvenile Department for expunction of records of young people when they turn 18 years of age.
The agreement is not to exceed $84,821.31. Reimbursement rates vary: Formal Accountability Agreements, $223.80; Misdemeanor Cases, $279.75; Felony Cases, $324.51.
Expunction of records had been performed by the state until recently, Juvenile Director Torri Lynn told the commissioners. Lynn said youth previously had to apply to the juvenile court to have their record expunged, after waiting five years.
The automated system applies to cases that were informally handled, misdemeanor charges and some felony charges.
Lynn said the Juvenile Department receives a list of youth from the Juvenile Justice Information System who are eligible for expunction based upon their age and charges. The Juvenile Department then prepares notifications and provides information to other agencies that have juvenile records that may qualify for expunction.
In his written report, Lynn noted that some felony charges will not be expunged. They include Arson I and II, Robbery I and II, Assault II, Kidnapping II and using a child to display sexual images.
Some misdemeanor charges are not eligible for the automated process and young people must wait four years before being eligible to apply. Those charges include fourth-degree assault, strangulation, menacing, bias crimes and reckless endangering.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Approved a pass-through services contract with Jimco Electrical to provide a back-up generator at the Sweet Home Community Center. Funding is not-to-exceed $81,718 and is provided by the Oregon Health Authority. The contract runs through June 30, 2026.
- Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement to accept up to $78,079 from the Criminal Justice Commission to support the Linn County Mental Health Court. The agreement runs through November 30, 2027.
- Approved an amendment to a Personal Services Contract between the Intercommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization and Linn County’s Maternal Child Health program. The agreement is not-to-exceed $185,473 and runs through December 31, 2026.
- Approved a Behavioral Health Provider Agreement between the Intercommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization and Linn County. Approved new compensation rates of $34 for mental health services and $8.50 for substance use disorder.
- Appointed Candy Bliss, transit supervisor for the City of Albany, to the Position 4 seat on the Linn County Transportation Advisory Committee.
- Accepted a $35,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Veterans Services for the Linn County Veterans Services Department. Funds will be used to provide transportation to medical services by Quality Medical Transport for local veterans. The grant runs through June 2027.
- Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Linn County Road Department and the city of Millersburg for stormwater code implementation. The agreement allows the city to administer, inspect and enforce erosion and sediment control and post-construction stormwater requirements on portions of Old Salem Road, Nygren Road, Conser Road and Morningstar Road. The roads are within the urban growth boundary outside city limits. There is no cost associated with the agreement.