Curry County Sheriff John Ward says he spends a lot of time out of the office.
鈥淚'm more of a working sheriff than politician because I go out on a lot of calls, when there's nobody else available,鈥� says Ward while driving his patrol car along a coastal highway in the Southern Oregon city of Gold Beach.
Ward says he likes responding to calls. But he also finds himself on the road because his department is short-staffed. His office doesn鈥檛 have enough deputies to patrol from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.
A , charging $2.23 per $1,000 of assessed value, is on the ballot this month to fund more deputies and patrols as well as jail services like electronic monitoring. According , it will cost the average taxpayer just over $30 per month.
Ward passes a former timber mill 鈥� now an RV park 鈥� which brings backs memories of a time when Curry County could afford 24-hour patrols.
鈥淭his used to be an old mill site.鈥� When the logging basically got shut down and we're [no longer] managing our own timber, they tore everything down. I used to work out here when I was maybe late teens,鈥� says Ward.
Curry County used to rely on a steady stream of revenue from logging on federal land. It鈥檚 one of 18 counties in the state that receive subsidies from timber harvested on Oregon & California Railroad land. That allowed the county to keep taxes low. Curry has the property taxes in the state.
But forests open to logging were reduced in the 90s to protect the environment and endangered species like the spotted owl. (An investigation by ProPublica, The Oregonian/OregonLive and Oregon Public Broadcasting many O&C counties lost money from tax cuts on private forests.)
Curry County Ccommissioner Jay Trost says the resulting drop in timber revenue over the decades has contributed to their budget woes.
鈥淚t's why we're having the conversation today. Certainly,鈥� says Trost.
He says the county is only staying afloat now due to a federal American Rescue Plan grant, which expires at the end of June.
Now it鈥檚 his job to sell the idea of a new tax in a historically tax-adverse region.
鈥淭he reality is a levy has been often tried in Curry County and has never been successful. It's a mountain that has not been summited,鈥� he says.
It鈥檚 not just Curry County鈥檚 law enforcement looking for more funding this year. Neighboring Josephine County, which also historically relied on timber revenue, renewed a levy to fund their sheriff鈥檚 office last year. But from 2012 to 2016 voters decided against new law enforcement property taxes five times. During that time the sheriff鈥檚 office cut two-thirds of its staff.
Trost says that by the time a levy passed in Josephine, a lot of damage was already done. He points to Cave Junction, a town where authorities currently struggle against illegal marijuana operations, as a cautionary tale.
鈥淵ou would just need to look at what happened in Cave Junction when the levy didn't pass for Josephine County and what happened to that community when they had no more sheriff patrol. Essentially, that's what we would be somewhat facing in our unincorporated spaces,鈥� says Trost.
Coos County, just up the coast from Curry County, also on this month鈥檚 ballot to support law enforcement. That five-year property levy would add a tax of $.98 per $1,000 of assessed value. The money will go to fund more deputy district attorneys to tackle a backlog in cases and add beds to the county鈥檚 overcrowded jail.
Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio says that they鈥檙e in the same position, financially, as their neighbors
鈥淟ike so many places we're facing this massive financial cliff,鈥� says Fabrizio.
He says the county jail is often at capacity.
鈥淯nfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation where we have forced releases. People come in and in order to hold them we have to release somebody else,鈥� says Fabrizio.
His department鈥檚 budget trouble isn鈥檛 only about disappearing timber revenue. He says prices have also increased from personnel to materials and vehicles.
A law enforcement levy in Coos County failed in 2008 and 2022. This time around, Fabrizio says he鈥檚 trying to not be negative when explaining to voters the need for a new tax. But he鈥檚 also clear that there will be consequences if this levy doesn鈥檛 pass 鈥� starting with the jail.
鈥淪o even though we just [expanded] to 98 beds, we'll probably have to go back down to 49. [We鈥檒l] probably lose a whole patrol shift鈥� and one of our detectives. It's going to be pretty widespread across the office,鈥� says Fabrizio.
Chris Castleman, who鈥檚 running for commissioner in Coos County, says most residents agree that crime is a problem.
鈥淩esidents at this point feel completely hopeless. I mean, it's almost a state of lawlessness,鈥� says Castleman.
But he鈥檚 against the levy and thinks it will be hard sell for voters. His preference is to fund law enforcement fully and then cut from the budgets of other departments if necessary.
鈥淚 go door-to-door, business-to-business and everyone supports law enforcement. But it seems like the majority doesn't want a tax increase. We got to come up with a better plan. And I haven't seen it out there yet,鈥� says Castleman.
Back in Curry County, Sheriff Ward says that criminals have caught on to the times his officers can鈥檛 patrol.
鈥淲hen you have a set schedule, people get used to that and especially the criminals out there know when we're on, when we're not on,鈥� says Ward.
Most residents here would agree that鈥檚 not an ideal situation. Settling on a solution is more difficult.
