Forum Lane

The Lane County Public Service Building, site of Harris Hall. The City of Eugene is currently leasing space in the building while City Hall is reconstructed.

On January 30, after six hours of public testimony and debate, the Board of County Commissioners instructed Liane Richardson, County Administrator, to provide draft language for a ballot measure to fund public safety.  The vote was 5-0.

Debate centered around the amount of the levy, which would be assessed as property taxes, the services to be funded should the levy pass and accountability of spending to assure the public that the money would be spent as they intended.

Draft language was provided on Friday February 1:

Caption:

For  Jail and Critical Youth Services, a five-year levy

Question:

Shall Lane County restore jail beds and critical youth treatment services by levying $0.55 per $1000 assessed valuation, commencing  2013.  This measure may cause property taxes to increase more than three percent?

 
Summary:

Lane County proposes a five-year spending plan that would allow Sheriff Tom Turner to utilize tax revenue and open, at a minimum, 255 existing jail beds within the County Jail.  The revenue would further be dedicated to youth services for juvenile offenders, including counseling, secure treatment and detention services.  On an annual basis, the Sheriff will produce an audited report to ensure accountability.  Beginning 2013, the Lane County property tax rate will temporarily increase by $.55 per $1000 assessed valuation;  thus for the median home in Lane County, valued at $151,000, the annual tax payment to Lane County would increase by $83.  After five years, this tax rate automatically sunsets, unless re-approved by Lane County voters.  This revenue will effectively halt the revolving door at the jail for violent offenders and enable the Sheriff to hold those criminals for their entire sentences.  It will ensure that more of our community’s youth offenders receive treatment services.  The funds must be placed into a restricted special revenue fund specifically earmarked for jail and youth services.  The funds must be placed into a restricted special revenue fund specifically earmarked for jail and youth services.  The estimated tax which would be raised by this levy are 2013/14-$14,973,375; 2014/15-$15,272,843; 2015/16-$15,578,299; 2016/17-$15,889,865 and 2017/18 $16,207,663 for a total of $77,922,045.

There will be a public hearing to listen to interested parties’ opinions of the consideration Tuesday evening, February 5 beginning at 5:30 at Harris Hall in the Lane County Public Service Building.

The Board of Commissioners will then consider adopting, amending or rejecting the proposal.

KLCC’s Rachael McDonald interviewed then Lane County Commissioner-elect Pat Farr on January 3, 2013.  The interview was aired on KLCC, 89.7 FM on January 4.  Topics included budget concerns, acrimony among past County Commissions, depth of Farr’s government experience, human services and public safety.  Other topics were timber harvests and use of other natural resources.

Pat Farr is sworn in on January 7, 2013

Click here to hear the interview.

Please join us for the State of the County address which features two of our very own forum lane contributors taking their oaths of office.  Commissioner-elect Pat Farr and Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner will be sworn in during the State of the County address.

Any discussion of public safety and funding for public safety in Lane County has to include, if not start with, services for youth.

The John Serbu Youth Campus at 2727 Martin Luther King Boulevard has as its centerpiece the building that many call  the Juvenile Detention Center.  The actual name for the building is the Juvenile Justice Center.

Lane County Juvenile Justice Center at the John Serbu Youth Campus.

If you were to tour the building you’d find a state of the art facility.  It contains all of the space and components necessary for operating a fully functioning and effective Youth Center.  But you’d also find that more than two thirds of the building is empty.  Empty offices, empty detention “pods,” empty classrooms, an empty (usually) gymnasium, empty hallways…

Not all the building is vacant.  Two court rooms on the second floor are regularly used, and the existing Youth Services administration and staff are present.  Notably, the commercial-style commissary is used to provide catered food for public events–the staff works with kids who not only provide excellent food but are learning all aspects of the food service industry.

Lane County voters passed a bond to build the facility which was opened in 2000.  Money to actually operate the center has gradually gone away as O&C timber harvest dollars disappeared, leaving a beautiful, almost empty building.  While the recently consolidated professional staff is doing miracles with the available budget resources, visiting the campus only serves to fuel dreams of how kids can be helped to avoid deeper involvement in the adult justice system.  Keeping kids out of trouble and jail.

While nobody is predicting any form of sudden influx of money to operate the building, the opportunity to use the facility creatively to help juvenile service may be real.

For instance, leasing some of the office space either to other government agencies or even possibly to private businesses could infuse some dollars directly into Youth Services.  One wing I toured had a dozen or more empty, clean and serviceable offices–complete with unused conference rooms and staff facilities–that are begging occupancy.

Another example is the “Salmon Pod,” named for the color of the walls.

The "Salmon Pod" at the Lane County Juvenile Justice Center

The pod has 32 beds, each in lockable rooms.  It also has a classroom, an exercise yard and never fully-used day use areas.  The commissary is nearby, down the hall, and separate entry and exit are built in.  It has secure access to the court rooms on the second floor.  While it most likely will never be used to house juvenile offenders, just touring it evokes thoughts of how it could be used to generate income for the department.  And make the streets safer.

The stated vision of the department rings true:  “The purpose of the department of Youth Services is to protect the public by reducing delinquency and improving juveniles’ ability to live productively in our community.”

Finding ways to use the facility effectively and efficiently will not only serve to use the bond money spent on the building but could also provide an influx of additional money to help the department better serve its vision.

After winning the primary election in May by 30 points I ran unopposed in the November general election.

I subsequently received just short of 100% of the vote, with a small number of write-in votes recorded.  I will be sworn as County Commissioner in early January.  I will tender my resignation from the Eugene City Council to be effective just before my installation as Commissioner.  The other seven members of the Council will select my temporary replacement through a process that has already begun.  My temporary Eugene City Council replacement will stand election in May to complete my current term.

County Commission work differs from my School Board, City Council and Legislative work in a variety of significant ways.  Noticeably, Commissioners have administrative responsibilities with the staff and organization that directors, councilors and legislators do not have.

My work will include Health and Human Services; Public Safety; Land Use; Transportation and a number of other fields.  Overarching all work is focus on the health of the economy and environment.

I will personally employ a “triple bottom line” approach to decision making, which takes into account “planet, profit and people,” or as defined locally, “environment, economy and social equity.”

Thanks to the electorate for your confidence as I enter my new scope of service duties.

In the aftermath of the November 6 election, its important to remember how much stays the same.

Political observers in Lane County had better remember one thing about Lane County’s non-partisan politics: The county ain’t the city.

It’s fair to point out that nonpartisan candidates in recent years have had unofficial labels. The contest have been between progressive candidates (Piercy, Fleenor, Rust, Riggs, and Handy) and pro-business candidates (Torrey, Morrison, Bozievich, Leiken, Green and Farr).

The election results are reasonably consistent along these lines. Pro-business candidates will hold four of the five county commission spots come January.

Eugene-style progressive candidates have a much tougher time in the county. Jay Bozievich’s victory over Jerry Rust, Sid Leiken’s win over Pat Riggs, and Faye Stewart’s lack of any strong challenger at all are testimony to this advantage. The county board and Springfield’s city council are both much more business friendly than Eugene’s city council and mayor.

Nevertheless, Eugene is not monolithic. Polling consistently shows about half of Eugeneans approve of and like Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy’s. That reflects the evenly divided city council. South Eugene, not North Eugene, is Kitty Piercy’s and the progressives’ base. The 2008 Eugene Mayoral results demonstrate this.

In recent years, progressive county board candidates running outside of South Eugene, when they win like Fleenor and Handy did, have only been able to hold their seats for one term.

One way to see the gap between Eugene and the rest of the county is to take a Eugene matchup and move it into the county as a whole. Polling consistently shows a huge countywide gap between Kitty Piercy and Jim Torrey. Torrey has an absolutely massive lead countywide despite having a much lower Name ID.

Though the rest of the nation might or might not be undergoing a political realignment, Lane County is unlikely to be affected. Candidates running under the “progressive” banner outside of Eugene are going to have a tough time against candidates running under the “pro-business” banner.

In 2014, the East Lane (Stewart), Springfield (Leiken), and West Lane (Bozievich) county commission districts will be up for election.

Pat Farr is the first pro-business challenger to defeat a progressive county commission incumbent running for re-election in Lane County in more than a quarter century. That last time was in 1986 when Ellie Dumdi defeated Chuck Ivey in the West Lane District.

Recent polling shows a strong disapproval rating on the job Lane County Commissioners are viewed as doing.  Currently 62% of Eugeneans rate the job the Board is doing as poor.

View the polling here.

Recent polling shows an overall increase in name ID for four of the five commissioners.

View the polling data here.

Click for larger image.