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217 Main Street
PO Box 168 Molalla, OR 97038 Phone:
503.829.2301 |
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| County public safety measure passes |
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Clackamas County will be putting 84 more bad guys behind bars next July 1 — and Sheriff Craig Roberts hopes it will be sooner than that.
Measure 3-246, the public safety levy proposed by Roberts, won a comfortable victory with more than 53 percent of the votes, 69,325 yes to 61,039 no.
It will allow the county to hire 30 new corrections officers and 19 new road and drug enforcement deputies.
“It shows the citizens see this as a priority,” Roberts said.
The approval ends a string of recent failures at the ballot box. Clackamas County voters turned down a 59-cent public safety levy in May 2002 and a 49-cent public safety levy that November. Both of those included money for prosecutors and jail services, as well as more deputies.
This year’s measure was for deputies only, and consequently had a lower price tag. It will cost 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
The levy will raise a projected $42.7 million over five years. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 will pay $63.13 more that November in property taxes because of this measure.
The corrections officers would let the county establish an inmate work crew, increase electronic home detention, and reopen 84 vacant jail beds.
“This is a huge trust that voters have given us and we don’t want to take it lightly,” Roberts said. “We want to make sure these resources are put to the best use, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Roberts said when he outlined the situation the county faces, and emphasized the idea of keeping more bad guys in jail, it resonated with voters.
“I think citizens took credibility from the fact that a blue ribbon committee was reviewing the situation,” Roberts said.
Said committee also recommended working toward construction of a more modern, efficient jail that can house more inmates and operate with the same amount of staffing.
The levy will not take effect until the 2007-08 fiscal year, meaning the sheriff’s office won’t see a dime from it until July 1.
Roberts is nevertheless hoping to hire deputies and reopen at least some of the vacant jail beds sooner than that.
“My goal is to meet with the county commissioners and see if I can persuade them to allow us to begin the process now,” the sheriff said.
He said it would be easier on the department to hire gradually, rather than trying to bring on 49 new deputies all at once in July.
Roberts also hopes to begin talks with the commissioners on construction of a replacement jail — if not all of it, then at least the first phase of it.
The current commissioners have made clear they don’t favor construction of an 800-bed jail — Roberts’ preference and the task force’s recommendation — immediately.
“We’re looking at something in between,” Roberts said.
Conservation gets funding
Voters also approved a 5-cent permanent tax rate for the Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District, intended to give the small agency stable funding in the face of losing a major grant.
The measure received 67,286 yes votes to 55,944 no votes.
It will generate $1.4 million in operating funds per year. |
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