Gaffney Lane Neighborhood Association

Oregon City Police Levy

Five-year local option tax for additional police officers.

QUESTION:
Shall the City impose a tax of $1.33 per $1,000 for five years for additional police beginning in 2002-2003? This measure may cause property taxes to increase more than three percent.

SUMMARY:
This measure may be passed only at an election with at least 50 percent voter turnout. The additional property tax revenue will be used to hire new police officers and to provide equipment and materials to outfit and serve those additional officers during those five years. The levy will be imposed for five years, beginning in fiscal year 2002-2003. The estimated total amount of money to be raised by the local option tax is $8,205,000 with the estimated amount raised each year as follows:
2002-2003: $1,561,000
2003-2004: $1,600,000
2004-2005: $1,640,000
2005-2006: $1,681,000
2006-2007: $1,723,000

What will approval of this levy provide for our community?

•More crimes solved and criminals arrested, addressing our community’s high crime rate.

•Increased neighborhood patrols and neighborhood traffic enforcement.
-Ongoing citizen surveys consistently list this as a priority. Historically our community’s fatal and injury traffic accident rate ranks as one of the worst in the state for cities over 10,000 population. Additional officers will help address this dangerous situation.

•Quicker response time to emergency 911 calls.

•Proactive investigation of neighborhood drug houses, drug manufacturing and sales.

•A police department with the ability to investigate fully all levels of crime, including felony property crimes such as burglary, theft, and identity theft.

•Maintain the School Resource Officer Program in our schools.
-The department currently has a police officer assigned to the Jackson Campus of Oregon City High School and another officer assigned to the Moss Campus and Gardiner Middle School. Approval of the local option levy will allow us to continue this program, helping to ensure the safety of our schools and positive involvement with our youth.

•Approval of this local option levy will provide for the law enforcement needs of the community and safety of our officers for the next five years.

Recent Police Statistics

The number of police officers in our city has not kept pace with our population growth. For example, in 1980 the city had 27 police officers for a population of approximately 14,000. Today the police department has 32 police officers for a population of approximately 27,000, only 5 more officers than 22 years ago. This levy request will add an estimated 21 police officers over the next 5 years.

Currently the police department has 1.2 officers per thousand population. These additional officers will increase our police officer ratio to 1.5 officers per thousand, still below the State average of 1.6.

The Oregon City Police Department responds to approximately 15,000 emergency 911 calls each year. With current staffing, our police response to some 911 calls is delayed, as there is an insufficient number of officers available to handle the calls in a timely manner. The additional officers provided by this request would address this problem.