Google Money: You want $1 million annually... forever?
Endowment Fund could net $1 million a year ‘forever’ if officials can wait 15 years
Officials consider the long view as Google dollars set to rain down
Locals will be asked to provide input through survey
Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege speaks during a conversation about the use of Google Fees on Wednesday, June 5.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., June 6, 2024 — Local officials have to make some million-dollar choices in the next few months as the City of The Dalles and Wasco County create a process for using Google fees.
On Wednesday, June 5, Councilors and Commissioners met in a work session to discuss the bigger vision for the money and developed a process for taking public input in weeks to come.
The conversation was spurred by the recent $3 million initial payment for the new data center on River Road. The city and county must decide what to do with the cash.
The Dalles City Council and Wasco County Commissioners met for a work session on Wednesday, June 5.
The City and County are at a true crossroads when looking to the future - they have the happy problem of a lot of money and how to manage it responsibly.
Wednesday’s meeting was a contrast between two ideas. Spend the money as they receive it on worthy projects or reducing taxes now, or put it into an endowment and have money to use later.
One thing was clear on Wednesday.
County and City leaders are all “intrigued” with creating an endowment fund with Google fees that could net $1 million annually… indefinitely.
Forever.
Wasco County Administrator Tyler Stone said he was confident in his estimate on that return as compound interest on the fund would provide unencumbered seed money for Wasco County and The Dalles for the foreseeable future.
There is a catch, however.
Patience.
Local leaders would have to agree to a hands-off policy when it comes to Google Guaranteed Annual Payments and $6 million in initial payments - these are fees that can be spent in any way and are made in lieu of paying full property taxes. They are split between the city and county. The fees will be paid by Google over 15 years through a reduced property tax agreement for the two new data centers that are being constructed at 3500 River Road.
Those payments, estimated conservatively, could exceed $4 million annually.
The total payout, estimated at $60 million would be put into the endowment account and not touched for 15 years. Compound interest set, for example, at 5 percent would take over and could increase the amount to $92 million in that period.
Lots of Money to go Around
Stone championed the idea as he and County Tax Assessor Jill Amery described the other additional Google dollars that will come from data centers during that period.
The First Data Center on Steelhead Way began paying its full share in property taxes in October 2022, adding $5 million to the tax base.
That additional money is already being shared by multiple taxing districts.
Google’s data centers now under construction on River Road will also kick in millions of dollars in property taxes when they come online in the next several years.
In addition, Google has two other data centers that will start paying property taxes in the next decade.
The data center expansion built at Steelhead Way will come onto the property tax rolls in the 2031-32 tax year. And the Taylor Lake data center, 2034-35 tax year, Amery said.
Here is an aerial view of the data centers along Steelhead Way in the Port of The Dalles. The second phase of this data center will begin paying property taxes in 8 years, providing local tax districts an additional bump in funding.
Google’s data center seen here next to Taylor Lake will start paying property taxes in 10 years, providing local tax districts an additional bump in funding.
Both bigger and more complex, they are expected to bring more than $10 million annually in new property taxes for the local community.
Stone said these increases in tax revenue will keep local taxing districts flush, making it possible to save a good portion of the Google Fees from the data centers on River Road for the endowment fund.
And there’s more.
Community Service Fees
Local leaders have already decided on how Google’s Community Service Fee will be split - these are fees paid in lieu of property taxes for the new data centers at 3500 River Road and will start being paid once the data centers are operable.
The money will be split straight down the percentages of 11 different tax districts.
But here’s the kicker.
The taxing districts have also agreed to cut a piece of the pie for North Wasco County School District 21, Columbia Gorge Community College and Columbia Gorge Education Service District, which typically receive funding through the State’s general fund.
This will be a boon for D21, which is dealing with aged schools that, arguably, need to be replaced. D21 will receive the lion's share of the fee at 30.1%.
Involved entities will receive a portion of the service fee which could be $5 million annually n the following percentages:
Wasco County 24.4%
City of The Dalles 17.3%
Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue 12.1%
Wasco County Library District 3.9%
North Wasco Parks & Recreation 3.9%
Wasco County 4H and Extension 1.4%
Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District 1.4%
Port of The Dalles 1.2%
North Wasco County School District 21 30.1%
Wasco County ESD 2.7%
Columbia Gorge Community College 1.6%
Public testimony will be taken at the next joint meeting set for July 23 at 5:30 p.m. and locals will also have the chance to provide their opinions in a survey that is under development.
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