In Tuesday’s special election, Lane County voters approved a renewal of a 5-year jail funding levy.
Measure 20-271 continues a 55 cent per 1-thousand dollar assessed value levy that funds jail beds and youth treatment services.
At an election watch party Tuesday, Sheriff Byron Trapp expressed thanks to voters.
Trapp: “The levy renewal that was put on the ballot was exactly what was passed 4 years ago with no change so that all those protections and restrictions on the funds were maintained and we continue to be committed to providing the best services possible with the resources available and to be the best stewards of the counties funds as we can be.”
Thanks to levy funding, jail capacity has grown from 125 to 317 beds for adult offenders. It also funds 16 treatment and detention beds for youth offenders. The sheriff says capacity based releases have been reduced by 63 percent since the original measure passed.
