In Shasta County, voters have so far approved a special tax for the Burney Fire Protection District, although more than half of the county's ballots have yet to be counted. Almost 70% of ballots cast as of Friday afternoon are in favor of the tax.
"Thank you for supporting the Burney Fire Protection District by voting in favor of Measure F!" the district wrote on its Facebook page.
A similar tax was approved, with about 71% of voters in favor, in the Tulelake Fire Protection District. It's estimated to raise about $85,000 annually.
And in Arcata, about 72% of voters approved an increase in the Arcata Fire Protection District's appropriations limits.
The industry has struggled recently because of increased costs and a severe workforce shortage.
The only public safety measure that appears to have been voted down in the region was in Mount Shasta, where residents rejected a 1% sales tax for fire and police protection. It was estimated to raise about $1.6 million a year. It received just over 50% of the vote, but required at least two-thirds of the votes to pass.
A similar tax was barely approved in Yreka, with almost 53% of voters in favor. Estimated to raise about $2.4 million a year, it will be used to hire and train firefighters and upgrade aging equipment.
Joshua Stanshaw, one of Yreka Fire Department's volunteers, told JPR's Roman Battaglia earlier this year that residents should understand the risks if they didn't approve funding for the department.
鈥淚 think that the citizens will understand that and see how it really benefits everybody,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause nobody wants to call 911 and say, well, we couldn't get the fire department to come.鈥�
In Dunsmuir, about 72% of voters approved a hotel tax rate increase to raise $60,000 for fire protection and law enforcement.
Voters also approved a spending limit increase for the South Yreka Fire Protection District, up to $90,000 a year, with about 82% of voters in favor.
In Humboldt County, voters approved a special tax for fire protection and rescue services in the Peninsula Community Service District, which is estimated to raise $33,000 a year. 74% of ballots cast supported the measure.
Meanwhile, law enforcement in Southern Oregon has not been so lucky. In May, voters in Coos and Curry Counties rejected tax measures to fund their sheriff鈥檚 offices, leading to multiple deputies being let go.
鈥淎t this point, we've basically destroyed everything we had built up to provide public safety," Curry County Sheriff John Ward told JPR's Justin Higginbottom earlier this year.
In contrast, Josephine County finally approved a service district to fund law enforcement in November 2023, after years of searching for permanent stability. The county's voters had previously rejected a seasonal sales tax to fund law enforcement in 2022 and a $12 million levy in 2012.
