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Meth levy headed for ballot; ex-sheriff says it's not enough |
Lee Vasquez criticizes process and the final figure
that will appear on the ballot, saying it's too little to fight the
scourge |
By David Sale, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail David at
dsale@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Initially one of its strongest supporters, former Yamhill County
Sheriff Lee Vasquez has distanced himself from the meth levy
recently approved by the Board of Commissioners. Vasquez said Aug.
25 that the approved rate of 30.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value
will not meet the county’s needs.
“It’s just going to be cosmetic,” Vasquez said. The levy, at a rate
of 30.5 cents, would generate about $1.7 million per year during its
four-year term.
The levy was cut to its present figure following a survey of county
voters requested by Commissioner Leslie Lewis. The survey determined
that a proposed 39-cent rate would be rejected at the ballot box.
“That’s up to the voters — the issue is coming up with a figure
that will have an effect, and I don’t feel we were allowed to,”
Vasquez said. “I don’t think this will have the effect that we
looked for.”
In response, Lewis said: “Our county officials said that this levy
could make an impact, by increasing the number of arrests,
prosecutions and incarcerations for meth-related crime. Yamhill
County needs to get ahead of this issue and we sized a levy that I
believe has a chance. If we put out too large a levy and it fails,
we can’t go again for two years.”
Vasquez and other members of a levy study committee had initially
recommended a rate of 82 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, over a
three-year term. But the Board of Commissioners declined to support
a levy rate greater than 39 cents, a figure accepted by the
committee.
In a memo to the commissioners, Vasquez wrote: “What you did was
totally circumvent nearly a year’s worth of work and professional
recommendation and force the committee into a ‘take it or leave it’
scenario ... I want nothing to do with a process that will not make
a difference in our fight against meth.”
At its present, 30.5-cent rate, the levy will allow the county to
add six law enforcement positions: five officers and a full-time
crime analyst, said to Lt. Ken Summers of the sheriff’s office.
“It’s one of those things where, without any additional resources,
we keep doing what we’re doing,” Sheriff Jack Crabtree said. “We
have to tailor our plans to what people will support.”
The survey indicated a preference for additional law enforcement.
Approximately 85 percent of the levy’s revenue will go toward
supporting the new positions, Commissioner Mary Stern said.
This stands in contrast to the initial, 39-cent proposal, which
allocated a total of 52 percent of revenue to other departments
involved in the fight against meth, including the district
attorney’s office, community corrections (jail and parole), juvenile
court and meth treatment and prevention programs in the county
Health and Human Services Department.
Despite the changes in the levy’s amount and allocation, Stern said
she feels the levy will be effective.
“You can’t do anything with nothing,” she said. “I don’t support
this just to get a levy on the ballot.”
Regarding Vasquez’s statement, Stern added: “The (levy) process has
been convoluted — he’s frustrated, and rightfully so, but I’m
confident that he’ll come around.”
Stern added that the county may also be in line to receive a grant
from the federal Department of Health and Human Services, which
would offset the levy’s reduction. |
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From
Sept. 2,
2006, Newberg Graphic
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