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Big fee hike to fund more Medford police, fire By Damian Mann Updated: Dec 20, 2022 11:00 AM A A Firefighters battle a grass fire near Crater Lake Ford in July 2014. Medford City Council voted to increase the city public safety fee to hire more police and fire personnel. [Mail Tribune/file photo] Medford City Council decided Thursday to more than double its public safety fee to help with a spike in homeless issues around the downtown. Over the next six years, the public safety fee that appears on the monthly utility bill will have annual hikes of $2.98 a month to add 29 more police and fire personnel. The fee hike also will help plug a large percentage of a $9.7 million general fund budget deficit caused by inflation. The current public safety fee is $9.42 a month, and the increase approved by the council will add $17.88 over six years. “What we’re looking at is a very significant investment in public safety,” said Councilor Michael Zarosinski. Over a six-year period, the fee increase will add 13 police officers, two community service officers, one property control specialist, six firefighters, one fire captain, two paramedics and two emergency medical technicians. Armed with the fee increase as well as grants, Medford police will expand the Livability Team, which patrols the downtown and Bear Creek Greenway, by adding three officers and another community service officer to run two shifts a day. Grants will help fund the expansion of the Livability Team for three years. Over the past year, the Livability Team has worked with 1,867 people to provide them with mental health care, medical assistance or drug addiction treatment. Police have helped place 600 homeless people into the Urban Campground in north Medford. During Greenway sweeps, officers have worked with other organizations to remove 900 cubic yards of trash. With the additional money allocated by the council, police Chief Justin Ivens said he would be able to have seven patrol teams rather than the current six. The city used to have seven patrol teams but haven’t had sufficient staff to continue at that level. Fire Chief Eric Thompson said the extra money will allow his department to have four-person response teams rather than the current two-person teams. This will require adding six new firefighters. He said this will allow each team to quickly handle small fire emergencies rather than calling out multiple engines. The council approved two medical squads, which will cut down on sending out fire units for medical emergencies. Two newly created community resource officer positions, similar to community service officers for the police, will be focused on patrolling the downtown and portions of the Greenway. The CROs will have a vehicle that can put out small campfires along the Greenway. During fire season, the CROs as well as police officers will provide more eyes on the Greenway to help prevent another Almeda Fire, which destroyed 2,500 residences in 2020. The council considered four options to beef up public safety but ultimately chose the most expensive one to deal with growth in the city and to deal with increasing crime problems in and around the downtown. Councilor Tim D’Alessandro said it’s unfortunate the current council is playing catch-up on the issue of adequately staffing public safety. He said police haven’t added officers over the past 15 years, while the city’s population has increased significantly in that time. “This council has caught this hot potato,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve waited this long because the bite is much larger.” Mayor Randy Sparacino, former police chief, said, “This is long overdue, and it has to be done.” Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].