FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Oregon capped property taxes with Measures 5 and 50 back in the 1990s. Measure 50 established permanent base tax rates in 1997. The permanent rate for Port Orford is just $2.26 per 1000 of assessed value. Because base rates are generally too low to cover costs for city services, voters can approve temporary local option levies to cover costs of desired services --such as police for police services. Some communities vote for additional local levy options for parks, roads, and special capital projects. The Port Orford option levy is focused to cover the costs of operating our local police department.
Since Oregon capped property taxes with Measured 50 back in 1997, the assessed value of a property can rise only three percent per year while market values of property rises with inflation has overall been greater. To find your property's assessed value, look at your last tax bill or call the County Tax Assessor. You can also email your name and address to the Committee to Keep Port Orford Safe, and we will send you back your assessed value based on county assessors records.
With recent inflation, our current levy has not kept up with the rising cost of operations, including for insurance, software, gas, and more. When the last police levy was passed, Council chose too low of a rate --the same as it was back in 2014! For the past couple of years, the city has had to shift more money from other funds to cover police services, but that is not sustainable. It means not enough money for other important needs, and now reserves are drained. We need sustainable funding to make sure we can have a local police department into the future. The city added a $12 monthly fee as a band-aid for the last year, but it's not enough and it's fairer to spread the cost to property tax account owners.
The $12/ month public safety fee for utility owners was enough to cover police costs last year, but it is not enough to cover them into the future. City Council decided it would be fairer to spread the costs of public safety across all the tax accounts within city limits rather than the smaller number of utility accounts. Council also decided it would be good to put the crucial matter of public safety to the voters.
We currently have a Police Chief, 3 patrol officers, and a seasonal traffic-only officer. If we had fewer officers, there would not be enough staff to cover all shifts and on-call time-- plus sick leave, trainings, and vacations-- without paying substantial overtime and causing burnout. Officers would frequently need to be "on call" during off hours, which could lead to difficulty in recruiting and retaining experienced officers.
The proposed tax increase will shift the costs of public safety from 745 local water/sewer customers to 1,091 property owners. Tax accounts with the highest assessed property values will pay the most. It turns out that two-thirds of the top 30 highest value accounts do not have Port Orford mailing addresses. Approximately 300 tax accounts with the lowest assessed property values PLUS renters will pay less if the levy passes and the current $12/monthly fee is eliminated.
It's a huge benefit to have experienced LOCAL law enforcement officers who live in our community and know our residents well. They can respond to situations quickly and appropriately. This is known as community policing. If an officer can talk to a person who they already know, it's much easier to de-escalate a dispute or crisis. If their role is to offer help, comfort or solace, it's much better if it's someone you know. Can you imagine someone we don't know driving up from Gold Beach or Brookings in a quick enough manner to respond to a dispute, threat, or an unfamiliar scene? LOCAL is way better!
If the levy doesn't pass, the city will be compelled to reduce our police force, which will mean reduced patrols, increased response times, less traffic enforcement, and fewer resources to investigate crimes. Port Orford will become more vulnerable to crime.
The State of Oregon mandates annual trainings for all law enforcement officers on a number of topics, including dealing with people experiencing mental health issues. All our officers participate in the required trainings each year to maintain their professional certifications. In recent years, as part of city cost saving measures, the department's budget for trainings has been cut to the bare minimum. However, one of our officers, from past job experience, has over 8o hours of mental health-focused training.
The Committee to Keep Port Orford Safe is a group of citizens, city councilors and the mayor, who are supporting the police services levy ballot measure by providing information to fellow residents about our city's urgent need for sustainable police funding. The Committee to Keep Port Orford Safe is a Political Action Committee set up for the purposes of supporting Port Orford's local option levy. If you want to help or if you want to make a donation to help defray the costs of our yard signs, please contact Mayor Ann Vileisis, Councilor Gary Burns, or Councilor Perri Rask.