Death of sheriff's proposal disappoints city officials

Sisters city officials are disappointed with the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 3-0 vote to deny support of a permanent tax district for sheriff's office services. The vote was taken Wednesday, November 12.

Instead of putting a permanent tax system on the ballot in May, the commissioners will support a five-year, temporary property tax levy.

Sheriff Les Stiles told the Sisters City Council last month the history of two- to three-year levies must stop, because he is losing hard-working deputies who leave for jobs which promise them long-term income stability.

"I think the sheriff needs to be running his department, instead of campaigning every few years for a levy," said Councilor Deb Kollodge.

Commissioner Tom DeWolf said in a press release that the proposed rates for urban taxpayers were too high for the permanent funding.

"Though permanent funding is my first choice, we lack agreement on the appropriate rates to charge urban versus rural taxpayers," DeWolf said. "I will not place a permanent tax measure on the ballot which will double the tax rate for rural residents. It is doomed to failure and would jeopardize public safety in Deschutes County."

Stiles said the department needs the tax revenue to maintain its operating costs. Stiles said the department cut $2.2 million in expenditures this year, which meant getting rid of a 90-bed work release center and 25 department jobs.

"The bottom line is they have been cutting public safety for the last three years and it looks like they will continue to cut it," Stiles said.

If the permanent tax district had been passed, rural taxpayers would pay a maximum of $2.04. That rate would be a significant increase from the rural residents' current rate of $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The urban rates (inside the city limits), would have dropped to 68 cents per $1,000 assessed value from 78 cents per $1,000 assessed value, Stiles said.

Sisters City Councilor John Rahm pointed out that Stiles' numbers reflect the highest amount the rural taxpayers could pay over 10 years, not necessarily the amount they would pay each year.

"I'm in favor of the permanent tax district, though it looked to me like it would be a challenge to convince the (rural) voters to go for it," Rahm said. "I think the way they write up on the ballot the maximum in 10 years, the number is high enough to intimidate everyone."

Councilor Deb Kollodge said in an email that it is the city residents, not the rural residents, who are paying more taxes than they should. She pointed out that 80 percent of the city's property taxes go to fund municipal police protection.

"In Sisters 80 percent ($311,705) of our tax revenues ($385,640 for 2003-04) go to pay for contracted sheriff services," Kollodge said. "That means that $2.11 of the $2.64 per thousand of assessed value collected pays for police protection within the Sisters City Limits.

"Plus the city residents pay 78 cents per $1,000 for sheriff's levy. So someone living within the City of Sisters that owns a $200,000 home pays $2.89 ($2.11+$.78) per $1,000 or $578 a year for police protection (not counting the jail bond)," she said.

Eileen Stein, city administrator, said the city's $2.89 per thousand also helps fund the sheriff's patrolling of rural areas.

DeWolf said in a press release, that sometimes city residents will pay for services outside their jurisdiction, but rural residents contribute in other ways.

"People who live outside cities shop at Bi-Mart, Fred Meyer, Costco, Safeway and Staples in Bend," DeWolf said. "They eat at restaurants in Sisters and Sunriver. They go to the movies in Redmond. They golf in Black Butte. They help provide the income with which those businesses pay their property taxes to support their urban police services.

"I've seen no calculations of how much rural residents are supporting police services in the cities through their purchases. People in Bend eat at Tumalo Feed Company and golf in La Pine. Their money helps pay property taxes for rural patrols, but a fraction by comparison because the vast majority of business is concentrated within urban centers."

The sheriff's permanent tax plan would raise the current rural tax of $168 for the owner of a $150,000 home to about $300.

Councilor John Rahm said urban residents need to pay more because they have not been paying as much as the city for sheriff's services.

"Theirs might be doubling, but the thing is, they're not paying their share," Rahm said. "It's a hard pill to swallow, but you have to look at it like they have been paying half the price."