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Sweet Home Asks Voters To Keep Paying For Police, Library

City of Sweet Home

For a small community in Linn County, the outcome of the November Special Election could have huge consequences. Sweet Home voters are considering two local option levies to fund city services.

The City of Sweet Home is funding its police department and library with 5-year local option levies. They're up for renewal and the city is asking for a little more to cover increased costs.
Craig Martin is Sweet Home City Manager. He says without the levies, they'd have to cut library services and find some other way to fund public safety.
Martin: "The challenge is that even with the city's $1.41 permanent rate, that doesn’t generate enough money to fund even the police department at its current service levels."
Sweet Home cannot raise its permanent tax rate because of a technicality in two statewide voter passed property tax measures. The police levy is $7.85 per $1000 assessed value. The library levy is $1.17. The deadline to turn in ballots in the special election is Tuesday, November 3rd at 8 p.m.
 

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.
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