ST. HELENS, The biggest local question on the Nov. 3 ballot is whether St. Helens property owners will pay $1.46 per $1,000 of assessed value for five years to keep the police department at its current size. The city says the alternative is cutting the force by more than half next summer. Opponents say the city has the money and will not manage it.
Here is what Measure 5-312 does, what it costs and what each side argues, drawn from the county voters’ pamphlet.
What It Does
The measure authorizes a five-year local option property tax levy at $1.46 per $1,000 of assessed value, starting in the 2027-28 fiscal year with collections beginning in fall 2027. The money goes into a dedicated police fund and, under the ballot language, cannot be spent on anything but police.
The explanatory statement, submitted by Mayor Jennifer Massey, says the city’s planned police costs exceed property tax revenue by more than $2 million. The city has arranged bridge financing to hold current staffing through June 30, 2027. After that, the statement says, the city would have to cut police staffing or find other revenue.
The levy would pay for three things, per the ballot summary:
- Investigations referred by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a national network of agencies that the city says refers more local cases than it can handle without a dedicated detective.
- One detective who would lead child exploitation and protection cases, serve as the city’s ICAC liaison and work as a school resource officer.
- Continuous 24-hour patrol coverage, which the ballot title says will otherwise be unfunded after July 1, 2027.
What It Costs
At $1.46 per $1,000, the pamphlet gives these annual costs: $146 on a home assessed at $100,000, $292 at $200,000, $438 at $300,000. Assessed value is the figure on your county tax statement, which in Oregon is usually well below market value.
The city estimates the levy would raise $1,730,000 in the first year and $9,185,225 over five years, with the annual amount growing about 3 percent a year. The pamphlet notes the ballot title’s required warning: the measure may cause property taxes to increase more than 3 percent.
The Case For
Six arguments in favor were filed. Sheriff Brian Pixley writes that his office “does not have the staffing or financial capacity to simply take over the City of St. Helens’ police workload” if city police are cut, and that “mutual aid is not a replacement for a police department.”
District Attorney Joshua Pond writes that he understands staffing would fall from 19 sworn officers to nine if the measure fails, and that “prosecutors cannot recreate evidence that was never collected.” Citizens for a Safe St. Helens, a political action committee, makes the same 19-to-nine claim. The explanatory statement itself does not give officer counts.
Janelle Adams of the Columbia Sexual Assault Response Network writes that child exploitation and abuse cases need investigators with time to finish them. Betty Spady Haas, 97 and born in St. Helens, writes that she lives on a limited income and still supports it. Reed Hjort, a former law enforcement officer, writes that businesses deciding whether to invest in St. Helens look at police coverage.
The Case Against
Three arguments in opposition were filed. Steve Toschi, who is running for mayor against Massey, writes that voters rejected a city water-bill fee by 85 percent in May and that the council responded by “immediately placing a higher tax on the ballot and borrowing a million dollars rather than managing the overruns.” He writes that some officers earn more than $200,000 a year with overtime and that the police budget has grown 138 percent in 10 years against 7 percent population growth, citing city pay records he obtained through a records request. The Tribune has not reviewed those records.
Janice M. Zuccarini, a retired culinarian on a fixed income, writes that the city “has not reduced spending” and urges voters to elect new council members. N.M. Jarrell writes that the levy would cost homeowners an estimated $300 to $700 a year and could force people on fixed incomes out of their homes. The pamphlet’s own figures put a $300,000 assessed home at $438.
The May Vote They Keep Citing
The 85 percent figure is accurate. On May 19, St. Helens voters rejected Measure 5-311, a fee for the city general fund, 3,455 to 569, according to the county’s certified results. That is 85.86 percent no.
What Happens Next
Ballots were mailed Oct. 14 and must be received or postmarked by Nov. 3. If the measure passes, the levy appears on tax statements starting in fall 2027. If it fails, the city’s bridge financing runs out June 30, 2027, and the ballot title says 24-hour patrol coverage would be unfunded from July 1.
Columbia City voters face a parallel question, Measure 5-313, a $1.95 per $1,000 police levy replacing one that expires; the Tribune will cover it separately.