Public safety funds eyed
From our weekly issue dated March 26, 2008
The Long-Term Funding Task Force on Wednesday, March 19 began taking on the difficult task of finding ideas and strategies to locate monies for Josephine County public safety operations including the sheriff’s office, Juvenile Justice Dept., district attorney and jail.
It was frequently stated by members, during the meeting at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass, that they want to find a more equitable way of generating funds for safety operations rather than the usual expectation that property taxes will be increased and that home owners will cover the cost. Members focused their attention on finding sources for smaller fund amounts that could add up to the task force’s objective of stable funding for public safety operations.
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Several ideas were discussed, but one way or another, almost all of them involved a tax or fee of some sort. Ideas included a room tax paid by travelers who stay at motels, a “buy-in” program for new commercial and residential structures, a beer and wine tax, and a county business license for businesses outside city limits.
Toward the end of the meeting, the task force members began discussing the more controversial topic of a sales tax. This discussion was to continue during the meeting this week and was to include dialogue about taxing districts. The task force has until April 14 to compile a report for the board of county commissioners.
Task force meetings open to the public are held in Anne G. Basker Auditorium, adjacent to the county courthouse, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
-Roger Brandt
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