Stable law enforcement funding the focus of JoCo town hall

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. —Josephine County officials hosted a town hall Wednesday, about finding a sustainable way to fund law enforcement. The town hall was an opportunity to educate the public about future possibilities and hear from them directly.

Sheriff Dave Daniel has been in law enforcement for 28 years and he says for the vast majority of it, law enforcement has been funded through multiple levies in Josephine County.

The two questions that were asked to the public Wednesday, were what level of law enforcement do you want in Josephine County? And how much are you willing to pay for it?

Commissioner Herman Baertschiger says it’s time to find another funding source.

Sheriff Daniel said this next fiscal year, the sheriff’s office projects a $1.6 million deficit. He says in 2023, it’s looking at a $4.6 million deficit.

Sheriff Daniel says some potential options include, the possibility of creating a taxing district, a sheriff’s office levy, or a law enforcement retail activities tax. The sheriff addressed the Grants Pass city council earlier this month, Wednesday he got to hear directly from citizens.

“What I’d like to see in our law enforcement is enforcing all the laws, and id like to see steady funding to do this, sales tax is not steady,” said one Grants Pass resident.

Stay with NBC5 news for updates on this developing story.

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.
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