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Opposition to the proposed taxing district for law enforcement patrol
Firstly I am for law enforcement but a city like Cave Junction and other rural areas we have never had effective patrol. I myself have been stuck on 199 in heavy traffic blocking the road as two sheriff deputies merely drove by offering no assistance.I have spoken with numerous others who have had similar stories a nd are disenchanted as well. Regarding the outrageous $1.86/1000 it is more than double any past Levy amount. Cave Junction is one of the poorest areas in the state. In these inflationary times another financial burden upon people under financial stress is just wrong. Now let’s look at the history of the last 6 years. The sheriff was asked to go into contingency funding and road money in 2016 and refused. He then threatened and used scare tactics to get a Levy passed for the jail. Then he got it renewed with only a small percentage of eligible voters voting like 35 percent.In 2016 the Levy failed in November 60 to 40 and voter turnout was over ,60 percent countywide. In may 2017 40 percent voted and by a slim margin the Levy passed. The renewal came recently with similar low voter turnout. The sheriff has now done the very thing he refused to do in 2016. He went into contingency and road money of over 5 million. He now wants a taxing district and has cut 2 positions in the jail which the voters paid for with these levies. A taxing district never goes away and the amount paid is based on property value which goes up 3% a year. The sheriff had overspent his budget and now wants a bail out from citizens already financially stressed. This is an exorbitant tax and you as councilors opted in to putting this on the ballot because you are in favor. Please tell us the public whether you support this tax district on citizens. Please do not claim privacy as citizens should know your position on the issues. The special meeting with the sheriff unfortunately didn’t allow public input from citizens on such an important issue. I am asking Cave Junction voters and all voters to vote No on this exorbitant tax. Commissioners are also attempting a highly unpopular sales tax and a possibile illegal absentee owner fee of $185 per property. We must not allow any of this. Perhaps asking for an increase in federal funding and cutting the waste in county government would be other options. Furthermore the commissioner in their arrogance toward citizens gave billionaire Dutch Bros. Travis Boersma a $20000 rent reduction at the Fairgrounds and gave away Sportsman’s Park. Why not give citizens a tax break not a billionaire?
Sincerely, Mark Seligman
Selma