A Warning From Curry County Sheriff - How Bad Is It? (Brookings: 2013, crime)

[JGC97]

I was reading an article in the Coast Curry Pilot about the upcoming May ballot and the proposed tax increase. The Sheriff for the county states that if the tax levy isn't approved, lots of cuts for safety will be felt. Are things as bad as reported by the Sheriff?

Without the increased revenue from a tax levy approval, the jail will likely close, the sheriff’s office would contract with Coos County Jail for three beds for local inmates, the DA’s office would only prosecute the worst cases, only two deputies would be on the payroll and other dramatic cuts would be made in fundamental county departments.

“It’s just one of the many things these cash-strapped counties will be dealing with,” Bishop said.

Those closest to the issue say the situation in Josephine County is merely a sign of what’s to come here.

Brookings Oregon News, Sports, & Weather | The Curry Coastal Pilot - Sheriff: Mexican Mafia watching

[oregonwoodsmoke]

That's their standard line to scare voters into voting for a property tax increase. Then they add the lie that it will only cost a few pennies.

[Steve Pickering]

In Curry county it is not a scare, it is fact. Curry County is listed as the most likely candidate to be the first county in Oregon to go bankrupt and shut down all Government services.

[JGC97]

No one likes to see their taxes go up. Take it from someone who lives in a state where, if it moves, they tax it.

I've seen the effects of limited police and emergency personnel on the streets. It's not pretty. One community close to me was experiencing five murders a month. When the city lost police personnel, crime escalated. I'd hate to see that happen to communities in Oregon.

It looks like both Curry and Josephine County are going to see higher property taxes soon.

Tax levies and other moves by Oregon's timber counties send right message | OregonLive.com

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

It looks like both Curry and Josephine County are going to see higher property taxes soon.

Tax levies and other moves by Oregon's timber counties send right message | OregonLive.com

It's going to be a hard sell. When much of the population already lives at or under poverty levels, there is a mentality that "bullets are cheaper then taxes." I would not be surprised to see news reports of open carry becoming more common again in rural Oregon.

[Steve Pickering]

No one doubts that service will go away. The tax will be turned down, and the county is serious about cutting service. We start on 16 hour a day patrols in the county here, and this county (Polk) is not in that bad a condition financially. The reason .... PERS and Unions. Retirement and benefits cost as much as wages.

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by hamellr

It's going to be a hard sell. When much of the population already lives at or under poverty levels, there is a mentality that "bullets are cheaper then taxes." I would not be surprised to see news reports of open carry becoming more common again in rural Oregon.

This made me chuckle because we've been discussing the same thing here. More people who never owned a gun in their life have now made the leap and purchased one. If they don't have the police to protect them, they'll do it themselves. I can't fault them for that. Not one bit

I see your point about the number of people living at or below poverty. I don't know the demographics of how large that population is in Oregon but I do know about this state. The wealthy and middle-income are paying the additional tax for these services. The poor still receive the benefit but aren't the ones paying for it. However, there are some pretty poor neighborhoods here who are having gang problems. The city police have called for federal and state help and it's knocked down a bit of the crime. Side Note: What's more annoying is that the police arrest these people, the DA prosecutes the case but the judges aren't tough on crime and jails are releasing these low-lifes back into society, due to overcrowding. Our governor says they have to.

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

No one doubts that service will go away. The tax will be turned down, and the county is serious about cutting service. We start on 16 hour a day patrols in the county here, and this county (Polk) is not in that bad a condition financially. The reason .... PERS and Unions. Retirement and benefits cost as much as wages.

Ah, yes. PERS and Unions. Same complaint here. Paying exorbitant benefits to retirees is draining the fund. I still haven't figured out how these cities and counties didn't have the foresight to know these exorbitant pensions and benefits wouldn't hurt them, down the road.

[PNW-type-gal]

Most of Oregon (outside the large cities/metro areas, of which there are about 4) is having similar problems. A lot of the rural counties do not have 24/7 sheriff coverage and there are a lot of crimes that the various sheriff departments no longer respond to. In my county, the county commissioners were just replaced with a crew that care about nothing other than taxes, so in my county things are going to go from bad (the conditions in my last sentence are ALREADY in place) to much worse. Likewise the school budgets are being slashed. And the commissioners complain about how hard it is to get new businesses to move in. Let's see, we have taxes but they don't actually cover any services, planned tax cuts will exacerbate that: schools are being closed, teachers laid off, class hours cut, community college tuition is going up from already nuts levels - so the county has no services, fair to poor schools, no skilled workforce, no amenities and retail is closing. Why WOULD any business come here?

[Steve Pickering]

Here is my favorite.... There is no money for supplies and material so we can't fix the streets, but the crews can not be let go because of union rules, so we make work for the street crew as we can find it.

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Most of Oregon (outside the large cities/metro areas, of which there are about 4) is having similar problems. A lot of the rural counties do not have 24/7 sheriff coverage and there are a lot of crimes that the various sheriff departments no longer respond to. In my county, the county commissioners were just replaced with a crew that care about nothing other than taxes, so in my county things are going to go from bad (the conditions in my last sentence are ALREADY in place) to much worse. Likewise the school budgets are being slashed. And the commissioners complain about how hard it is to get new businesses to move in. Let's see, we have taxes but they don't actually cover any services, planned tax cuts will exacerbate that: schools are being closed, teachers laid off, class hours cut, community college tuition is going up from already nuts levels - so the county has no services, fair to poor schools, no skilled workforce, no amenities and retail is closing. Why WOULD any business come here?

My gosh! Are you sure you're not talking about my state??? lol