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Measures alarm Central Point A pair of tough initiatives targets city fee increases By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT - City officials say they will hold community forums in hopes of educating taxpayers on the strict requirements of two measures set for the March ballot. The measures would require any new city fees or fee increases be approved by at least 50 percent of the voters. That means not only 50 percent of registered voters would have to cast their ballots, but 100 percent of those voting would have to approve the fee. The community forums are planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 6 at Crater High School library and Feb. 13 at Scenic Middle School library. Voters will receive their ballots for Measures 43 and 44 in mid-February for a March 12 election. The initiatives themselves can become law with a simple majority approval. Council members voiced concerns about the measures' requirements being more stringent than the double majority now required by state law for money measures. A double majority requires at least 50 percent turnout and 50 percent "yes" votes. "The way it's written," said Mayor Bill Walton, "if 50 percent of the registered voters turn out for the election, 100 percent of them would have to approve the measure. "If 100 percent turn out, 50 percent have to approve it and we never get 100 percent (turnout). It's unheard of." But Charles Olsen, treasurer for the Citizens to Protect Voters' Rights, argued accountability should not be unheard of. "We want 50 percent of the people to approve these increases," he said. "If half the people don't come out and vote, it shouldn't pass. Holding an election and just a small amount of people voting things in doesn't cut it anymore." Council member Dr. David Gilmour said he was concerned that people who signed the initiatives' petitions misunderstood what they would require if passed. "The whole initiative is so complicated and quite misleading, that we really have to go out and educate the public, especially about the portion that means it would be more stringent than the double majority requirement," he said. Without the freedom to increase fees when necessary, Gilmour said, the city would be forced to cut back on services such as police and roads. In addition, the measures would be retroactive to the date the petitions were filed, meaning recent increases in system development charges and changes to planning and building department fees would revert to old rates. "Development would no longer pay for itself and the city would have no reason to expand. The end result would be a slow degradation of services to the point Central Point would probably cease to exist," he said. But Olsen said the measures were not an attempt to destroy the city, but a plea with city officials to "share the power with the people who elected them." "They're in office to serve the people, so it shouldn't hurt them to ask," he said. "Too many people, especially seniors, have to choose between paying rent, buying medicine or heating their home. I'd like to see them be able to do all three." He added that he felt an annual 3 percent property tax increase should more than cover increased operating costs. City administrator Jim Bennett said the initiative measures actually would create the additional cost of holding more elections. The March election will cost the city $7,000, or about $1 per ballot mailed. "It's not a fortune, but it's nothing to sneeze at either," he said. Bennett said the city will insert in January water bills a fact sheet about the public forums in hopes of increasing turnout. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.