How to pay for law enforcement in Josephine County is not a new issue, but it is a sensitive issue, One that will start up a conversation in no time.
Commissioner Simon Hare says he appreciated the candor in Wednesday’s meeting especially since the question of how to fund law enforcement has had a heated and controversial past in Josephine County.
There was no shortage of opinions at Wednesday’s Josephine County Commissioner’s meeting.
The topic, once again, how to pay for the county’s boot-strapped criminal justice system
“Public safety has been a hot topic in our county especially because of the decline in public funding. Back in 2012 when we had to cut a lot of the public safety force we had, particularly the sheriff’s department,” said Commissioner Cherryl Walker.
This time a new plan, enlist the state’s help through a 2013 law that matches funds raised by the County by issuing a public safety fiscal emergency in the County.
“Some of the policies have changed that we try to respond but it’s simply not possible to respond to such a large County with a limited number of deputies,” said Walker.
How to raise those funds though, was hardly a consensus among the crowd.
No decision was made Wednesday, the Commissioners will meet again tomorrow to discuss the plan.
Any decision will have to make it to the Governor’s Office before the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.