Curry County has cut the budget of its sheriff's office following voters' rejection of a proposed law enforcement levy.
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Proposed tax measures in Oregon’s Coos and Curry counties to fund law enforcement services failed in May. Now sheriff’s offices are dealing with the consequences.
The Curry County sheriff’s office has had to let go of 11 deputies since residents voted down a five-year property tax, which would have charged $2.23 per $1,000 of assessed value, to help fund 24-hour patrols.
Now, after further budget cuts for the county, that office will only have the sheriff and two deputies available for patrol duties. Those patrols are limited to 10 hours per day, only occurring during weekdays.
Curry County Sheriff John Ward has been with the department for over 30 years and said staffing has never been this bad.
“At this point, we’ve basically destroyed everything we had built up to provide public safety. And we’re not being effective as it is,” said Ward.
He said his officers will only be able to respond to “person-to-person priority calls in progress” while most other cases will be handled through a self-reported form on the Curry County website.
“We’re still here. We’re just not going to be able to provide the services that we have in the past,” said Ward.
Cuts have been less dramatic next door in Coos County, which had a property tax of $.98 per $1,000 of assessed value on the ballot this past spring that voters also rejected. That revenue would have funded more deputy district attorneys and added beds to the county’s jail.
The Coos County sheriff’s office had to cut just a couple positions and delay the replacement of vehicles. But that’s because the county dipped into a fund used to purchase forest for timber harvesting. Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio said that money won’t be there next year.
“It’s just a stopgap, using the reserve funds from the forestry department . to try to figure something else out,” he said.
Both sheriffs want to put taxes on the ballot again to fund their offices in this November’s general election. Fabrizio said he’s going to be more direct with voters this time.
“I’m going to make it really simple… [The levy] is going to fund the jail and county operations. And if it fails, then there’s going to be a reduction in services,” said Fabrizio.
Curry County Sheriff John Ward is still considering options for a ballot measure, including the creation of a new tax district.