ASHLAND, Ore. — The city of Ashland has come up with a way to pay for additional police officers.
Back in March of last year, councilors approved adding new officers to the force, however, funding to pay for some of the positions had yet to be decided.
Tonight, councilors voted to fund the final two positions with an additional two dollars a month on electric meters. That cost could be lowered if property taxes collected are more than one percent above what is budgeted.
While the councilors were in agreement that the new officers are needed, they had a tough time deciding how to fund the positions.
“I’m completely willing to make this a temporary funding mechanism to ensure that we can move forward until we can find a better one,” said Councilor Greg Lemhouse.
For right now, the surcharge is not permanent. Councilors will be looking at other ways of funding the officers, including adding parking meters, increasing the transient occupancy tax, or placing a tax on tickets for live entertainment.
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