Property Tax Levy

Contact: dkoester@jocat.org

What is a Levy?

Property taxes in Oregon are permanently fixed at a 1996 rate by the state constitution. In Josephine County, property is subject to a permanent base rate of $0.58 per $1000. The state constitution provides that this can be increased only by a temporary supplemental levy adopted by a double majority. That means over 50% of the registered voters must vote in its favor for a property tax levy to pass. If voter turnout is low, the levy will fail.

The Board of County Commissioners proposed a supplemental levy of $2.49 per $1000 for 3 years in the May 15 election, but that levy was defeated by the voters. That would have brought the total county tax rate to $3.07 per $1000, and was expected to generate about $12 million in additional revenue. That amount is roughly equal to the amount that the county has received in previous years from the O&C Safety Net funding, which expires next year. If this levy had passed, it would have enabled the county to continue to function at its current level and meet anticipated increased expenses for the next three years.

Some people voted against the levy because they felt that three years was too long a period to raise property taxes, and would have been amenable to a one-year levy instead. Others would have preferred a levy for less money, being willing to trade off cut-backs in public safety for a smaller property tax incease. It's likely that the Board of County Commissioners will propose a new levy on the September ballot that will either be for a reduced amount of money or a shorter period, or both.

Click here to read the full text of the proposed levy.

Why Support a Levy?

A levy is not a permanent solution, but it would buy us some time to establish other sources of funding for public safety, either in the form of a sales tax, increased revenue from sustained yield timber harvesting in the O&C lands, some combination of both, or some other source.

Nobody wants to pay higher taxes, but we’re faced with an imminent crisis. The O&C Safety Net funding currently provides almost 60% of our total county revenues. We already have an understaffed Sheriff’s Office and a “catch and release” program for all but the most serious criminal offenders. On July 1, 2007, when the O&C Safety Net funding expires, our public safety budget will be reduced by 60% and things will get a whole lot worse. A levy would only be a temporary stopgap, but it might be the most expedient way to get some immediate cash flow and restore law enforcement to Josephine County.

Some residents of Grants Pass feel that they shouldn't have to pay for a levy because Grants Pass has its own police department. However, Grants Pass still relies on the Josephine County jail and the Josephine County prosecutors office, and the Josephine County courts. 70% of the inmates in the county jail are being held for crimes committed in Grants Pass, and 70% of the criminals prosecuted in the county courts are for crimes committed in Grants Pass. Without jails, prosecutors, and courts, the criminals arrested in the city cannot be held or tried, and will have to be released. The criminals already know this.

Benefits of a Levy

What You Can Do

• Talk to friends, neighbors, and coworkers and enlist their support.
• Write letters to the editor of the Daily Courier and Mail Tribune.
• Post flyers on bulletin boards at work, churches, schools, clubs, or other organizations.
• Hand out flyers at the Growers Market, First Friday, Boatnik, and other events.
• Design and/or print flyers, posters, placards, and/or other promotional material.
• Arrange a speaking engagement for a JoCAT member at your church, school, club, etc.
• Vote in the September election, and get your family, friends, and co-workers to vote, too.

For more information, or to volunteer your support, please contact dkoester@jocat.org.