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Shady Cove levy would hire more officers SHADY COVE -- The city of Shady Cove will ask voters in November to approve a levy to put more police officers on the streets. The policy levy would generate $66,000 each year for five years to hire two more police officers. "Our caseload is up 20 percent this year over last year," says Mayor Tom Anderson. Shady Cove police officers are dealing with more drug activity around the city, more family-related fights and more traffic violations, Anderson says. The levy would add 57 cents to the city's tax rate, or $57 a year to a property tax bill on a home that's worth $100,000. That number would change if county tax appraisers offer a higher value of Shady Cove property in January, the mayor says. If the city's assessed value of $116 million increases, the amount collected for the police levy from each property owner would drop, Anderson says. "We've had a lot of growth -- a motel, commercial buildings and houses," Anderson says. "As the value goes up, that rate goes down." The city's tax rate is $1.24 per $1,000 of assessed value: this comprises a 69 cent sewer bond that expires in 22 years and a city rate of 54 cents per $1,000. If voters pass the police levy, the Shady Cove tax rate would increase to an estimated $1.81. Shady Cove's tax rate is the lowest city rate in Jackson County. He noted that Shady Cove is asking for a dollar amount, not a rate. He cited Phoenix as an example of a city asking for a tax rate, which would result in a different dollar amount each year. "We're doing a bare-bones levy," he says. Mail Tribune Copyright � interRogue & The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA