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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency Services Ducks, Buckeye fans make playful wagers ahead of championship game Old stained-glass windows face threats College on the K-12 dime Mobile Health Center pulls out of Gold Hill Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Emergency services One killed Friday in single-vehicle crash in Rogue River Emergency services Men sentenced in heroin case Politics and Elections Councilman stirs online dust-up with anti-marijuana post State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Education College on the K-12 dime Students forge links between forest health and people Medford School Board meeting deferred because of Ducks game Medford bulks up student support for math, reading Ashland schools to implement chickenpox precautions Environment OR-7 now officially the leader of his pack Ashland trails up for changes Monument expansion expected to increase tourism, protect resources Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock State News Oregon State University plans $60 million forestry complex Washington man arrested in Portland hotel slaying Timber group updates green label forestry standards Attorney: Use Boy Scout files in sex-abuse trial Oregon capitalizes on championship run Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Ricardo Ruiz-Santillan Richard Thompson LuErna Mae Jacobson Robert Charles Pollock Bob Lozano Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? 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Mobile Health Center pulls out of Gold Hill ... Latest attempt at public safety levy targets specific needs ... Old stained-glass windows face threats ... Mobile Health Center pulls out of Gold Hill ... Latest attempt at public safety levy targets specific needs ... JOSEPHINE COUNTY Latest attempt at public safety levy targets specific needs Comment By RUTH LONGORIA KINGSLAND Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By RUTH LONGORIA KINGSLAND Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jan. 11, 2015 @ 12:01 am By RUTH LONGORIA KINGSLAND Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jan. 11, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News The private citizens group Community United for Safety kicked off a signature-gathering drive on Thursday, aiming at 2,800 signatures by the end of the month to get a public safety levy request on the May ballot. As proposed, the five-year levy would cost taxpayers $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A home with an assessed value of $158,625, the median assessed value in the county, would see its property tax increase by $222 a year, or $18.50 a month. Because of voter-approved property tax limits approved nearly 20 years ago, assessed values are generally about 17 percent lower than market values countywide, although each property is unique. Signature gatherers plan to brave the cold with tables set up in the parking lot at the corner of Seventh and J streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day between now and the end of the month. The group — created last year and led by Scott Draper, general manager of Club Northwest — three months ago hired a research firm from California to poll local residents in search of what it would take to get a levy approved by voters. The county has seen drastic cuts in law enforcement, as well as closure of the Juvenile Justice Center, as federal timber subsidies have declined from more than $12 million in 2008 to $4.8 million this year. Unless Congress acts quickly, there will be no subsidy money available when the new fiscal year begins on July 1. The research firm contracted by Community United for Safety conducted telephone interviews with residents from across the county. The polling indicated 53 percent of residents would support a levy, depending on how much it was for and what services it would provide. CUFS then tailored its proposal based on the research results. The deadline to submit a minimum of 2,038 valid signatures to place the measure on the May ballot is Feb. 18, according to County Clerk Art Harvey. But, he added, the community group appears to be erring on the side of caution, giving itself extra time to make sure there are enough valid signatures. Public safety levy requests have failed in May elections during each of the past three years. Representatives of the citizens group attribute past failures to measures created by county officials who didn't take into consideration what residents want and how to assure accountability. "This is the first time for this kind of levy," said Cliff Thomason, a local real estate agent, who is among the volunteers at the signature gathering booth at the Seventh and J streets location. "This measure is community and business leader driven and put forth by citizens. I am confident this will provide what the people want in law enforcement," he said. If it makes it to the ballot, and is approved by voters, the 2015 Josephine County Public Safety Measure would: • Provide funding for 16 sheriff's deputies, including patrol vehicles, and four dispatchers. • Increase jail capacity to 160 beds to keep those accused of violent crimes in jail as they await trial. • Re-open the Juvenile Justice Center. • Create a better economic climate by improving public safety throughout the county. Additionally, to ensure accountability, a Citizens' Oversight Committee would be created, and an annual independent audit performed, with findings made public, according to Thomason. Grants Pass resident Richard Barak, 71, couldn't help but stop to sign a petition as he drove up Seventh Street Thursday morning. Barak said he'd heard the group was working on a proposed levy and it was important for him to add his name to the petition. After recently moving from the Sacramento area, Barak, a retired credit manager, was astonished to find public safety wasn't a "given" as he'd come to expect in other places he has lived. "It seems very odd to me that the federal government's first job is protecting its citizens from dangers foreign and domestic and yet the local government and community would see the safety of its citizens as an option," he said. "It's incomprehensible." Reach Daily Courier reporter Ruth Longoria Kingsland at 541-474-3718 or [email protected]   By RUTH LONGORIA KINGSLAND Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By RUTH LONGORIA KINGSLAND Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jan. 11, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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