Commission candidates outline priorities

Nancy Pope Schlangen, who currently holds Position #3 on the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners, will face Tom DeWolf in the Republican primary in the May 19, 1998 primary election.

DeWolf ran unsuccessfully as an independent against Linda Swearingen in the last County Commissioner race.

DeWolf says the number one issue is taxes, specifically the "$4.1 million overcharged to county taxpayers because the sheriff's levy was made part of the permanent tax base."

DeWolf says the money should be returned. He admits that to do so may be illegal. He would not say that the county should return the money illegally.

Schlangen responds that Deschutes County Commissioners have been "spending a lot of time in Salem trying to resolve a problem essentially caused by the state trying to implement Measure 50."

Schlangen said Deschutes County only received $400,000 of the $4.1 million. That has been set aside to offset future taxes.

But DeWolf said that to hold the money and reduce future taxes would not help people who sold their Deschutes County property this year.

Schlangen said the number one issue facing the county is developing alternatives to handle solid waste.

"We have 10 years, (since the county recently expanded Knott Landfill), and we want to know what our best options will be. Federal and state regulations have been changing so it has been like trying to hit a moving target," she said.

Current landfill options include developing a new publicly-owned site in Deschutes County, shipping the waste out of the area, and privatizing the service.

Schlangen and DeWolf agree that privatization should be looked at as one option to contain costs.

DeWolf said communication between government and the public and between public agencies needs to be improved.

He said that since regular county commission meetings are held at 10 a.m., "they are not accessible to those people who work. We should hold at least some of these meetings in the evenings to reduce the gap," he indicated.

Schlangen said voters should "be able to see an actual difference" in crime since the county has basically completed massive investments in the criminal justice system. New programs have been put in place, including putting a law-enforcement substation office in a high-crime apartment complex, and holding youthful offenders in the county to make local reparations.

"It costs $48,000 to send a youth to the Oregon Youth Authority. The first four that we brought back here under our new program have been helping to build a Habitat for Humanity home," said Schlangen.

Schlangen said in her opinion, accommodating growth and preserving the environment are also critical issues.

"We have developments, especially in the south county, built among in the trees where there is only one road out. What do we do in case of a major fire? We have 7,500 vacant lots in the south county, in some places the water table is only two-feet deep. We are in danger of polluting wells and soon we could be polluting rivers."

DeWolf said that the Deschutes County budget has "gotten too big." He alleged that the county budget has grown 300 percent since 1990, while the population has grown only 30 percent.

Schlangen said DeWolf is misusing the numbers. The general fund property tax figures have gone from $5.7 million to $7.4 million, an increase of 31 percent. The population has increased 35 percent. Inflation has increased 28 percent in the same period, and voters have given themselves $67 million in capital improvements, including jails, libraries, fairgrounds and similar capital projects that appear on the budget.

DeWolf agrees that voter approved mandates are a major factor in increasing budgets, but indicates that piecemeal bond issues make it difficult for voters to understand the long-term impact on taxes.

He offers no specifics where he would cut, but said "We need cities, county, sheriff, and fire agencies not just declare they need a new bond measure. We should do some long term planning, so people can realize what their property taxes are gong to be (if bond measures are approved.)"

Schlangen said Deschutes County general fund taxes are less than half of those of neighboring counties, and the lowest in the State of Oregon.

DeWolf would put a number of in-house services, such as vehicle maintenance and solid waste management, out to public bid.

The vote between the two Republicans will be held on May 19.