Voters in three Oregon counties that have slashed law enforcement services in the face of lost federal timber payments turned in mixed results on public safety levies Tuesday.
Residents of Curry and Josephine counties said no, while Polk County voters said yes.
In Josephine County, home to Grants Pass, voters turned down a public safety levy for the fourth time since 2012, the Daily Courier reported. The vote was 54 percent to 46 percent.
The five-year levy would have raised more than $9 million a year to restore sheriff's office patrols, expand jail capacity, and reopen a youth shelter and counseling center. It would have cost taxpayers $1.40 per $1,000 in assessed value, or $280 a year for owners of a home valued at $200,000.
Curry County voters rejected a three-year levy, 57 percent to 43 percent, that would have raised more than $5 million a year for the sheriff's office.
The levy would have cost taxpayers in Brookings, Gold Beach and Port Orford $1.34 per $1,000 in assessed value, or $268 a year for a home valued at $200,000. Residents in the rest of the county would have paid $2.52 per $1,000, or $504 a year on a $200,000 home.
Polk County voters approved a five-year property tax levy to raise more than $2.3 million a year for sheriff's office patrols and other law enforcement services by a vote of 56 percent to 44 percent. The levy will cost homeowners 45 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, or $90 a year.
Elsewhere in Oregon:
Benton County: Voters soundly rejected a controversial measure -- by 73 percent -- to prohibit the use or cultivation of genetically modified organisms. The measure would have created a "right" to a local food system that pre-empted county, state and federal laws.
Lincoln County: Voters in a large health district approved a $57 million bond to pay for a new hospital in Newport, 51 percent to 49 percent. The measure is expected to cost taxpayers 98 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, or $196 a year for a home assessed at $200,000.
Marion County: Voters were approving, by 55 percent with most ballots counted, a $65 million bond to build and improve schools in the Woodburn School District.
Linn County: Albany voters passed, on a vote of 52 percent to 48 percent, up to $18 million in bonds for public safety facilities, including new police and fire stations.
Yamhill County: Voters in the Yamhill Fire Protection District voted down, 511 votes to 430, a 10-year levy to replace fire engines, improve the fire station and replace equipment.
-- Michelle Brence
503-412-7059
@mbrence