Clackamas County voters face a choice on their ballots: approve a hike in property taxes at a time when the prices for everything from gas to groceries keep climbing, or allow for deep cuts to public safety including the loss of dozens of deputies.
FILE - A Clackamas County Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle.
SoulRider.222 / Flickr (Creative Commons license)
Specifically, the May ballot calls on voters to choose between a 45% increase in the public safety levy of their property taxes or losing 36 jail deputies, five Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office detectives, 84 jail beds, body cameras and internal affairs investigators meant to hold personnel accountable.
The tax levy that has funded those positions and programs since 2006 is set to expire at the end of the year.
Sheriff Angela Brandenburg said if the new levy does not pass, law enforcement in Clackamas County will not look the same.
Because of rising costs, renewal of the levy at its current rate would not cover services going forward, the county says. Simply extending the current tax level would require a 37% reduction in levy-funded deputies, County Administrator Gary Schmidt told the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners earlier this year.
If passed in the May 19 special election, Measure 3-633 would result in the public safety levy rate rising from 36 cents per $1,000 in assessed home value to 59 cents per $1,000. According to the county, the new levy would cost the average homeowner an additional $60 per year, or about $5 a month.
But even a small increase could be a hard sell for some. The ask for the higher levy comes as 63% of Oregon families find it difficult to make ends meet each month, according to the 2026 Oregon Financial Wellness Scorecard released in March.
The board of commissioners nearly asked voters for an even bigger increase. That proposal would have resulted in the average homeowner paying an additional $86 per year and funded the existing levy personnel and services, as well as a new special crime reduction team.
The commission unanimously gave county staff direction to pursue that option at a meeting Jan. 27. Two days later, the board changed its mind after a community member testified about the financial hardship seniors in the county are facing.
Welches resident Shirley Morgan told the board at its Jan. 29 meeting that there are 80,000 seniors living on fixed incomes in Clackamas County. She said they’re all facing rising taxes, car insurance, utility rates, grocery costs and other bills.
“I urge the commission please not to play chess with our property tax dollars,” Morgan said during the meeting.
Commissioners said Morgan’s comments convinced them to put the smaller increase before voters that now appears on the ballot.
“Shirley, what you said really hit home,” Commissioner Diana Helm said.
The board of commissioners voted unanimously in February to send the safety levy to the ballot.
Commissioner Ben West said Clackamas County has a long and proud history of supporting law enforcement and wants to balance that support with protection of public dollars. West is also campaigning for reelection in May and has said he’ll oppose new tax increases.
West also worried whether having the levy on the same ballot as the statewide gas tax increase measure could hurt the levy’s chances.
If the levy fails in May, the commission would consider returning to voters in November.
