By Esmeralda Bermudez
The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon)
Copyright 2006 The Oregonian
All Rights Reserved
HILLSBORO, Ore. — Supporters of Hillsboro’s public safety levy renewal are pushing hard to get voters to think of local police and fire services first as they consider multiple money measures on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Voters will be asked to consider a local option levy that would cost property owners $1.72 per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s an increase from the current $1.10, which was approved in 2002. The city plans to collect the higher levy amount in fiscal 2008-09, if the measure is approved. It would raise $71.7 million over five years.
More than 90 percent of the money would go toward police and fire service. The rest would pay for hiring about five maintenance workers in the parks department.
The fire department is experiencing its highest emergency response times since 2001. In addition to expanding and adding programs, the levy is expected to pay for two new fire stations, add 28 full-time fire employees and lower average response time to four minutes. It also would add 22 positions to the police department.
For residents such as Daniel Helms, paying more for police and fire service levels is a given. The 39-year-old father of two young children and native Oregonian moved back to Hillsboro two years ago after living in Southern California for many years.
“I want to ensure safety for my family,” Helms said, while bowling with his kids downtown recently. “Also, I want parks kept up for kids. They give low-income families a place to go and relax.”
For others, the idea of adding to their annual property taxes is frightening. When Neysa Evenhus, 73, hears about the five money measures that await her vote, the Hillsboro resident says sarcastically, “Oh, gee. Thanks!”
On a fixed monthly income of about $600 and struggling with Parkinson’s disease, Evenhus cringes at the idea of increasing her tax bill.
“It’s a little scary,” she said on the doorstep of the home she’s owned for 31 years. “I have to try to have enough out of my minimal earnings. This could all be quite a bump for me.”
Because of the packed ballot, Hillsboro officials a few weeks ago kicked off an aggressive campaign to catch voters’ attention. They’ve knocked on nearly 10,000 doors, called hundreds of others, distributed information pamphlets and plan to air a radio announcement, said campaign manager and City Councilor Ed Dennis.
“We’re running a strong campaign to give people what they need to make an informed decision,” Dennis said. “We’ve lost tremendous ground in our fire emergency service, and we need to turn the corner on that. We’re not going for the moon here. We’re just trying to get back to the buying power we had before.”
In a survey of 300 Hillsboro voters conducted by the city in July, slightly more than 50 percent of respondents said they would favor the public safety levy.
If the levy fails, the city will again ask voters to vote for a renewal in 2008, but next time it’s likely that the city will ask voters to renew the levy at the current rate of $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed value. That amount, which has been in effect since 1998 --when the levy was first approved --would keep up some services but prevent the city from hiring the number of employees that officials say is necessary to meet Hillsboro’s growing needs.
So far, Dennis said, the campaign group has found that about 80 percent of the voters they’ve spoken to agree with the current renewal proposal.
“We’re hearing genuine support,” Dennis said. “But I don’t think someone giving you a thumbs up on their doorstep always translates to a yes vote when the door is closed and they’ve got a No. 2 pencil ready to make a choice.”