A proposed Lane County tax measure would change the county charter to require that all income tax revenues be used for public safety, potentially increasing the number of criminals jailed and prosecuted in the county.
Measure 20-114, put forward by the Lane County Board of Commissioners, would pour $27 million yearly into preventing and adequately dealing with criminal activity, supporters say.
Yet some Lane County residents have challenged the measure, claiming tax revenues will not be used effectively for public safety if it is passed.
“The public safety in Lane County is badly, badly damaged, but not broken,” said District Attorney Douglass Harcleroad.
The jail, for example, has 96 unused beds, and two-thirds of juvenile detention beds are unoccupied, he said.
Lane County Sheriff Russel Burger said the jail does not even have enough money to keep criminals in jail long enough to complete a sentence.
“We’re releasing an average of 11 inmates per day, many who have not been prosecuted,” Burger said.
The income tax will contribute money for the county jail, criminal prosecution, juvenile detention and drug treatment and prevention.
Public safety is currently funded by the county’s $57 million annual budget. Each year, $38 million of that amount pays for public safety services.
“These numbers are just not adequate,” said Faye Stewart, a member of the Lane County Board of Commissioners.
But resident Jim Fox, who opposes the measure, said the nearly $30 million accrued from the measure will be “eaten up” in costs to employ more public officials.
“They are adding an ever-increasing load of financial obligation,” Fox said. “There is no amount of money they can raise that will do anything.”
Commissioners propose to amend the county charter, which authorizes the board to modify the tax rate itself. If the measure passes, the suggested income tax will be capped at two percent of net income.
Fox disputed the measure’s structure, saying many low-income residents will not have to pay even though public safety benefits everyone.
Both the county jail and the juvenile justice system suffer significantly from underfunding, Harcleroad said.
He said if someone smashed a window and stole a purse from a car and got caught, the county can’t prosecute the thief because there are not enough deputy district attorneys to handle the high volume of property crime.
In the month of August, 32 burglaries, 13 car thefts and 46 general thefts were reported in the West University neighborhood.
Current property crime rates are “through the roof” in Lane County, Harcleroad said.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said.
Fox, a retired engineer, disagreed with the county’s approach to property crime.
“If you want to cut crime, you have to change the economic climate where people live,” he said. “People will then be less likely to turn to drugs.”
The district attorney’s office has continually lost prosecutors and investigators over the last 10 years as property crime has risen.
“The erosion has been over time,” Harcleroad said. “We had 30 percent more prosecutors. We’re short 10 lawyers, and we used to have 11 investigators. Now we have one.”
The Nov. 7 election comes at a time when the number of Oregon police officers per capita falls short compared to national numbers. The county ranks dead last in the nation for police officers per capita, Harcleroad said.
The number of officers in Lane County is even smaller than the state average, Harcleroad said.
“We’re virtually the worst police force in the country,” judging by quantity, not quality, he said.
Drug-related services also raise concern because the county does not have a drug team despite “a huge methamphetamine problem,” Berger said.
“Our drug treatment programs are wholly inadequate,” Harcleroad said, adding how drug users must wait months before seeking help.
A drug team cruising around and looking for meth labs is ineffective, Fox said.
The board’s public safety task force, composed of city and county elected officials, initially considered both a sales tax and a gross-receipts business tax but realized they were not viable options.
Contact the crime, health and safety reporter at [email protected]
Measure aims to increase jail funding
Daily Emerald
October 26, 2006
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