Measure 47 could slash BBR police budget

The Black Butte Ranch County Service District could suffer a loss of $163,000, about 46 percent of the budget for its six-officer police department, under Measure 47 according to figures released by Deschutes County.

County Administrator Mike Maier has recommended that Black Butte Police officers become deputies and that Black Butte contract with the sheriff's office for police protection.

The service district has decided to wait on further developments surrounding the controversial Measure 47.

Deschutes County is the governing body of the Service District, although day-to-day operations are governed by a management board of directors made up of Black Butte Ranch residents.

Maier and Sheriff-elect Greg Brown met with Bill Handy, who chairs the managing board, and two other board members on December 3 to look at options, which Maier summarized in a letter to Handy on December 6, prior to the service district board meeting on December 7.

A three-year serial levy could be submitted to the voters in the BBR service district in May or September, 1997. Such a levy "should be sufficient to replace the funds lost because of Ballot Measure 47 and future cost increases including but not limited to possible union related expenses," Maier wrote.

Black Butte Police are in the process of unionizing.

However, "...such a levy may be challenged by (Bill) Sizemore," who authored Ballot Measure 47, Maier wrote.

A second option would be to replace the lost property taxes by increasing the revenue received from the BBR Corporation and BBR Association.

"This option may be in violation of Ballot Measure 47 because it replaces lost property taxes with an increase in fees," Maier wrote.

The third option would be fore Black Butte County Service District to "enter into a contract with the Sheriff's office for law enforcement services."

Sheriff-elect Brown said that under this plan, Black Butte Police officers would essentially become deputies and Black Butte would continue to receive the same level of enforcement.

To pay for the continued level of service, Black Butte Ranch residents would pay the higher of a "split rate" in the sheriff's operating levy which would raise an additional $158,000.

This may also save costs related to unionization, since sheriff's deputies already have their own association, Brown said.

The fourth option Maier suggested would be for Black Butte to "accept the limitations imposed by Ballot Measure 47 and make necessary cuts in operating costs."

Maier wrote that it "is my recommendation that serious review and consideration be given to the option of contracting with the Sheriff's Department."

Chair Handy said that the service district board feels that there is still too much uncertainty surrounding the effects of Ballot Measure 47 to make a decision.

"Nobody know what will happen, if Measure 47 will go into effect or be held up in the courts, and if it goes into effect, which year they will be using (to calculate tax revenues)," Handy said.

"We (the BBR Service District Board) talked about the options an decided to wait on further developments, both legal and political," Handy concluded.