Excluding properties with an assessed value of more than $800,000.00 (which is mostly commercial properties, some high-end housing, etc.), we end up with an average AV of $170,510.52 = $380.24 annually / $31.69 month. For questions on your assessed value call the dedicated Levy Assessment Questions HOTLINE 541-247-3248 (M-F 9 AM - 4 PM)

Curry County is currently operating all County services – including law enforcement – with a $7 million General Fund budget. $2.1 million is generated by a permanent property tax rate of 59-cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value. The remaining budget has been funded by one-time federal money that will expire on June 30, 2024. This means that over one-half of Curry County’s general fund revenue will disappear on July 1st. The levy will provide a source of sustainable funding that will allow County Law Enforcement to offer the services the community needs without negatively impacting other County services.

For more data regarding permanent tax rates in Oregon, please see the table here.

The 5-year law enforcement levy would allow the County Sheriff to resume 24-hour patrols throughout the county and to hire 6 new full-time deputies.

Levy tax revenue will be used to fully fund the Sheriff’s Office and Jail as well as the District Attorney’s office. The Jail will continue to accept in-custody persons from all local law enforcement agencies and will have access to critical backup from Sheriff deputies when needed. The DA’s office would have the funding needed to be able to hire an additional Deputy District Attorney allowing them to prosecute all crimes. The Sheriff’s Office and DA will work together to offer electronic monitoring and community service options for eligible participants.

County Leadership will appoint a seven-member Citizen Review Committee that will oversee the use and management of levy funds.

The Levy’s Public Review Committee will be responsible for ensuring that funds are utilized in the manner they are intended and ensuring public transparency. The checks and balances created by the Committee include a thorough review of levy expenditures, formal recommendations to the Board of Commissioners, and public forums.

The proposed law enforcement levy will enable the county sheriff’s office to run 24-hour patrols throughout the county, and hire 6 new full-time deputies. This will improve emergency response time, and keep Curry County residents safe. The passage of this levy will allow the County’s general fund to cover the cost of running vital County services such as the Clerk’s Office, Juvenile Department, and Veterans’ Services Department.

Yes, the proposed levy will fund the County Sheriff to hire 6 new full-time deputies, which is the staffing level needed in order to provide 24/7 countywide patrol. As a direct result, response times to emergencies will be improved, Sheriff’s deputies will be able to conduct regular patrols of all areas of the County, and there will be no gap in coverage.

This levy will be in place for 5 years.

During the fourth year, the Citizen Review Committee and County leadership will work together to assess the need and practicality of a renewed levy term or even a permanent rate increase if there is community support. Ideally, by the end of the 2024-2029 levy, the County will be authorized to resume harvesting O&C timber lands, rendering another levy unnecessary. Passing the five year levy now gives us the ability to work through all available funding options and ensures Curry County has access to adequate public safety services. Passage of the levy now will ensure that our citizens are protected and funding for mandated services is retained.

The amount proposed by this levy is just enough to maintain existing services as well as offer 24/7 patrols, a service that this County has historically lacked the resources to provide. Annual budget documents are public record and are available for review at no cost on the County website.

The assessed value of a home is a percentage of the real market value of the home. With the introduction of Measure 50 in 1995, the taxed value of property was separated from the real market value of the property by the creation of assessed value. Assessed value was originally calculated as 90% of the real market value for the 1995-1996 tax year. Measure 50 also limited the annual growth rate of taxable property to 3% of the assessed value to protect from inflation. This means that each year, the assessed value of your property cannot increase more than 3% of the last year’s assessed value. Real market value, on the other hand, fluctuates based on the real estate market. You can wtch a brief YouTube video on how assessed value is calculated in Oregon using the link below this section.

Under Oregon Law, the County cannot impose or increase taxes without going to the voters.

The County is currently facing two budget shortfalls: the Road Fund Reserve and the county General Fund.

The County Road Fund is a restricted resource that State law dedicates for the purpose of Road maintenance and construction projects. Nearly a decade ago, the Oregon Governor’s office allowed certain Counties to use Road Funds to cover Sheriff Patrol costs due to those Counties’ lack of funding. Currently the Sheriff departments patrol service is 100% funded by Road Funds. Because the use of Road Funds for Patrol was not intended to be permanent, and could be rescinded at any time, the County must find a long-term funding solution for the Sheriff’s Office.

The County’s General Fund is operating past its capacity, resulting in the County having been forced to rely on one-time funding (such as American Rescue Plan and Local and Tribal Consistency Funds) to operate the jail during recent fiscal years. ARP and LATCF funds have not been made available for the next fiscal year. The General Fund will need to entirely cover the Jail, Parole and Probation, and other Sheriff’s Department services, which are mandated. Without an alternative funding source for the Sheriff’s Office, severe cuts to County General Funded Departments will need to occur – including but not limited to the Assessor’s Office, Clerk’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Juvenile Department and Veterans’ Services.

This levy will ensure that Law Enforcement services are maintained, and improved, for the next five years in Curry County.

The County currently receives $2,165,144.50 in property taxes, this is only 7.31% of the total amount of property taxes collected in Curry County. These tax dollars are put into the County General Fund and are currently being used to fund the County’s services. The County does have some departments that are self-funded and do not require General Fund contributions, such as Building/Planning, Economic Development and Parks. General Fund obligations are mainly dedicated to the County’s mandated services.

Road Department capital improvement purchases have been severely cut. Many high-level County administrative positions have been reorganized to streamline processes and efficiency.

The indirect result of the lack of funding is lost opportunities in the form of matching-funds grants, public infrastructure grants, and at times, insufficient staffing levels to provide satisfactory service to the public. Since 2017, the budget shortfall has been offset by a combination of road fund reserves and one-time federal grants.

Mandated services are:

- County Assessor and Tax Collector

- County Board of Commissioners

- County Budget Officer

- County Clerk

- County Emergency Management

- County Juvenile Director

- County Planning and Zoning

- County Roads

- County Sheriff, including Jail

- County Surveyor

- County Treasurer

- District Attorney

- Medical Examiner

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program provides state and federal funding for multi-agency task forces established between local, state, and federal authorities. To begin assembling a task force and receive funding, each agency would need to commit resources (people and money) for one specific case that has been identified and accepted by the DEA. Once established, funds are provided only to cover the expenses associated with the Task Force. NO money is available to the Sheriff’s Department for any funding outside of HIDTA purposes, such as patrol or jail. Due to the current funding deficit and law enforcement staffing levels at this time, it is unrealistic to establish a HIDTA team here in Curry County. For more information on HIDTA Task Forces please contact Commissioner Brad Alcorn at (541) 247-3213.

The levy will cover the operations of the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, including Patrol and Jail/Corrections.

This issue is of the utmost importance in Curry County. We are actively working with the State agencies to solve this. It is important to understand that each highway right-of-way situation is jurisdictionally dependent. If the property is owned by the state, then removing vehicles falls to the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State Police. Similarly, if the land is identified as Division of State Lands or State Parks, ODOT and OSP would be the authorities. If the property falls in the county right of way the Sheriff’s Department and County roads would be involved. Unwelcome campers on private property would require the Sheriff, or City Police, be contacted. The proper agency would make postings for the notification of removal. Removal of the vehicles and clean up must follow prescribed regulations and laws.

Curry County does need a permanent funding solution for a sustainable Sheriff's Office and Jail facility. Law Enforcement is a vital and mandatory service provided by the County government. In recent years, there have been a few attempts to pass a levy for the jail and for public safety but they have all failed – some by as few as 500 votes. Many of these levies did not have the unanimous support of the County Board of Commissioners. The current Board is in full support of the 2024 law enforcement levy proposal with the common goal of providing citizens and visitors alike with 24/7 Sheriff's patrol services, enhanced jail services and a fully functioning DA’s office for prosecuting all crimes. Transparency and oversight will be provided by the 7-member Citizen Review Board. Additionally, during the community survey conducted earlier this year, citizens of the county expressed the strongest support for a levy rather than other funding sources.

Grant funding is provided primarily through a competitive process and facilitated through State and Federal agencies as well as a few other, smaller, funding agencies. The majority of available grants require the County to contribute matching funds towards the total project amount. While some Curry County departments have funds available to use as matching funds, the Sheriff’s Office does not have any surplus funds marked for contribution. Available grants that do not require the contribution of matching funds are searched for routinely, and if grant requirements are met, they are applied for and administered. The Sheriff’s Office currently has active grants, though the dollar amount of those grants is not sufficient to support the total needs of Sheriff’s operations including the Jail. The funds being applied in the current application window will not be available until the 24-25 fiscal year due to grant funding cycles.

The County’s PIO doubles as a Grants Manager, who dedicates a large portion of time to searching for grant funding opportunities for the Sheriff’s Office, Corrections Division and the District Attorney’s office.

Answer: If the levy doesn’t pass, law enforcement and all other general fund departments will need to cut their budgets 31% for the fiscal year 24-25. This is WITH using road funds to help offset the deficit for the Sheriff patrol. Without the use of road funds, a 49% cut in services will be necessary. All cuts would take effect July 1, 2024. The country would determine next steps going forward at that point.

Passing the levy will stop the use of road funds to subsidize the Sheriff’s Department; in addition to maintaining current service levels, 6 additional deputies would be hired, enabling 24/7 county wide patrol coverage, plus enhanced jail services to include electronic monitoring, community service programs and necessary upgrades in the jail facility, and would provide a fully functioning DA”s office able to prosecute all crimes.

The proposed Law Enforcement Levy is not a sales tax; however, it is legal for the County to adopt a sales tax with a vote of approval from the residents. A sales tax was proposed on a previous ballot, and voters turned it down. In the poll conducted earlier this year only 29% of Curry County residents said they would support a sales tax.