Coburg councilors to continue discussion about public-safety funding

A Coburg City Council vote last month to create a $20 monthly public safety support fee is only the most recent example of local governments turning to citizens to help pay for law enforcement services.

Coburg Mayor Nancy Bell broke a tie when six city councilors split their votes.

Had the fee not passed, “the fear would be that we would have to disband our police department,” Bell said in an interview Friday, May 22.

Beginning July 1, a flat “per-unit” fee will be charged to utility customer accounts for residents and businesses within the Coburg city limits. A customer account for an apartment building, for example, will be charged the fee amount multiplied by the number of units in the building.

An existing low-income utilities assistance program already in place means that households, depending on their income, may be eligible for a 25%, 35% or 45% discount on the fee, according to city documents.

Within the last 12 months in Lane County, the City Council in Florence also approved a public safety fee that also imposes a charge on utility customers. Last November, the council increased the fee to $15 per month.

Over the last several years, other Lane County governmental authorities adopted various measures to help pay for police or jail services, including a payroll tax in Eugene and a voter-approved levy for the county jail.

Discussions have intensified in recent months among Lane County government officials about public safety funding for sheriff’s deputies and the district attorney’s office. A citizen committee last year presented ideas such as a payroll tax and special property tax district.

In the small town of Coburg, too, discussions continue about next steps.

City councilors Tuesday will spend part of a work session discussing a timeline and strategy for a possible local option levy, which would ask voters to decide on a time-limited property tax increase for a specific service.

Some councilors in April spoke of the levy as possibly a substitute for “bridge” funding provided by the public safety fee, leading to the contentious vote. The discussion Tuesday is expected to center on what city councilors believe is the main purpose for the levy.

“First of all, the council is going to have to make a lot of decisions,” City Council President Cathy Engebretson said at a May 12 meeting. “Do we want the levy to replace a fee? Do we want the levy to be in addition to a fee? How are we going to — how much are we going to ask for?”

The city’s administrator, Adam Hanks, told councilors that the earliest such a levy could be put on the ballot would be May of next year.

Bell said Friday the Coburg Police Department now has three full-time officers, after cuts over the last year of 1.5 full-time employees. 

“We’re now at the point that there really is not anywhere else to cut,” Bell said.

The fee is expected to bring in $200,000 yearly to cover an anticipated shortfall, according to city estimates. Bell said that the city’s expenses are increasing at a rate that’s far outpacing revenue increases.

“Many cities have a local option levy, plus a public safety support fee. That is not uncommon,” Bell said.

She spoke about what makes Coburg, which has a population of about 1,400, attractive to residents.

“The reasons that people move to Coburg are, it’s safe, it’s clean, it’s a small town,” Bell said. “Without having an infusion of revenue, there is no way to maintain those services.”

Lane County election results this week showed fire service levies failing in two rural districts. Voters also rejected other measures that would have increased taxes.

“We acknowledge that it is difficult financial times everywhere. All of us are feeling that,” Bell said when asked about recent election results in the county.

But “we know that to maintain services within the city of Coburg, we have to be able to pass these costs on to our citizens,” she said.