News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Howard Paine is leading an effort to defeat the Deschutes County Sheriff's levy.
Paine, who lives outside of Sisters, and Charles Patterson, of Bend, have launched the political action committee, Citizens Against Sheriff's Extravagance. They intend to fight the September 15 levy, which would raise about $22.5 million over three years.
Paine argues that the department spends too much on staff, vehicles and phone services and is handling highway patrol and truck safety checks that should be left to other agencies.
According to Sheriff Greg Brown, if the measure fails, he will be forced to lay off 105 employees, reducing patrols in the county to virtually nothing.
Paine noted that Douglas County, which is close to Deschutes County in population, gets by on about $4 million less than Deschutes County, and with fewer deputies. He thinks Deschutes County should do the same.
However, according to Brown, Douglas County has just hired a dozen new deputies, bringing its staff level to a par with Deschutes County.
But Paine and his supporters believe the department does too much and spends too much money.
"We just think there's a lot of empire building," Paine said. "We believe that there's a lot of unnecessary expending going on."
What Paine sees as empire building, Brown calls good public safety.
"I'm elected to protect the public, and that's what we're trying to do," Brown said. And, Brown argued, there's a lot of protecting to do.
Brown said the department received 57,000 calls for service last year - a call every 10 minutes. That number promises to grow to 58,000 this year, Brown predicted.
Brown cited the Fourth of July weekend as an example of the kinds of demands put on the department. From Friday, July 3, through Monday, July 6, there were five major motor vehicle accidents, five search and rescue operations (including a multi-day search for a missing climber on North Sister) and a fatal gunshot investigation in La Pine.
These activities were in addition to the usual call every 10 minutes and jail booking every 90 minutes, Brown said.
But Paine sees evidence of out-of-control growth.
"Look at the increase in the levy," he said. "In the last five years, it's grown by 180 percent." Over the same period, Paine said, inflation has grown by 15 percent, and the county's population by 25 percent.
Paine believes the increased cost of public safety, combined with other taxes, is putting serious pressure on county residents.
But according to Brown, those same residents voted in favor of mandates to lock more people up, which is responsible for a large chunk of the budget increase.
Running the adult jail - which voters approved - will take $4 million of the $6.4 million the levy nets next year, Brown said. The department gets another $1 million from the state to provide beds for inmates, many of whom are incarcerated under tough, voter-mandated Measure 11 guidelines.
Brown rejects arguments that the phone bill is too steep or that the department spends too much on vehicles.
He said the $100,000 phone budget pays for an expanded Justice Center phone system, maintenance and cell phones that he believes enhance service and increase officer safety.
Some of the cell phones are paid for under contracts with the marine patrol and forest patrol. The department also gets some state funding to conduct truck safety inspections.
Brown said that controversial four-wheel drive vehicles are a necessary tool for deputies in Central Oregon, and that his department did very well in getting them and other patrol cars at the best price.
"We need to have four-wheel-drive," Brown said. "We buy basic, utilitarian vehicles."
As for leaving highway patrol duties to the short-handed Oregon State Police, Brown said: "That's ridiculous. You and I and other citizens drive to work on the highways. The accidents that are occurring out there now are the result of the lack of patrol out there now."
Paine thinks that OSP's personnel shortage should be addressed at the state level. Brown agrees, but until it is, he thinks the sheriff needs to step up to cover the roads.
"We don't live in a box," he said. "We can't duck these issues."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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