QuickTake:

Four jurisdictions in Lane County — Springfield, Dunes City and two fire districts — have referred measures to the Nov. 4 ballot. Tuesday, Oct. 14 is the deadline to register to vote.

Are you a registered voter in Springfield or Dunes City? Do you live in areas served by South Lane County Fire & Rescue or the Lane Fire Authority?

If so, you’ll be receiving one of 87,000 ballots that Lane County election officials will be mailing this week for the Nov. 4 special election.

If you’re not a registered voter, you still have time — but not much — to sign up to get a ballot. The deadline for registration is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, the 21st calendar day before the election. Click here to register to vote online.

Lane County’s Nov. 4 election has four measures on the ballot, but individual voters will see only the single measure that applies to the jurisdiction where they live. For example, ballots sent to voters in Dunes City will include only a measure to amend the city’s charter. 

In all, four Lane County jurisdictions are putting issues to their voters in the Nov. 4 election. Three of them ask voters to approve five-year local option levies for fire departments:

  • In Springfield, voters will consider a measure to fund fire and life-safety services that would levy 53 cents per every $1,000 of a home’s assessed value. If approved, the measure would replace an existing levy of 38 cents per every $1,000 of assessed value. Under the new levy the owner of a house with an assessed value of $200,000 would pay $30 more annually. About 44,400 ballots will be mailed to Springfield voters.
  • The South Lane County Fire & Rescue District has proposed a measure seeking a levy of 94 cents for every $1,000 assessed value. If approved, the measure would replace a levy of 47 cents. The owner of a house with a $200,000 assessed value would pay an additional $94 annually if the measure passes. About 21,500 registered voters in the district will receive ballots. The district serves southern Lane County.
  • The Lane Fire Authority seeks approval of a 55-cent levy for every $1,000 of assessed value to replace a current 35-cent levy. If approved, the owner of a house with $200,000 assessed value would pay an additional $40 annually. About 19,700 voters in the district will receive ballots. The district primarily serves areas west of Eugene.

The fourth measure would amend the Dunes City charter. Ballots will be sent to about 1,300 residents. Under the current charter, City Council candidates qualify for the ballot by submitting a petition with the signatures of at least 20 voters. The proposal would allow candidates to skip the petition process by paying a $20 fee.

Ballots for the Nov. 4 election are scheduled to be mailed beginning Wednesday, Oct. 15. In all, Lane County has about 280,000 active registered voters.

Lookout Eugene-Springfield will have a story explaining each measure in more detail later this week.

Mike McInally is a Pacific Northwest journalist with four decades of experience in Oregon and Montana, including stints as editor of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Albany Democrat-Herald.