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JOSEPHINE COUNTY Measure would keep lottery dollars local But backers doubtful they can collect enough signatures for November ballot Comment By Jules Rogers Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Jules Rogers Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Mar. 16, 2016 at 5:57 PM By Jules Rogers Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Mar. 16, 2016 at 5:57 PM » Social News Backers of a proposed measure aimed at giving counties more control of Oregon Lottery funds said they would be hard-pressed to generate enough signatures to put the Josephine County grassroots initiative on the November statewide ballot. So far, petitioners have gathered nearly 10,000 signatures. They have until July 1 to gather a total of 117,578. The Oregon Lottery Local Control Act would amend the Oregon Constitution and return 50 percent of lottery money to the county where the money originated. As it is now, the state allocates the lottery funds, such as the $500,000 grant to Riverside Park in Grants Pass. Backers estimate the lottery act would generate more than $5.4 million for Josephine County based on numbers from fiscal year 2013. That's just enough to help replace federal subsidies for public safety now being phased out by Congress. Although the ballot title already was approved during a previous attempt in 2014, it didn't gather the signatures needed to put the measure on the state ballot. The chief petitioner is Grants Pass businessman and gubernatorial candidate Cliff Thomason, and on Tuesday backers hosted a fundraiser at the Grants Pass Golf Club to generate interest and awareness of the act. On hand for the proceedings was Jay Meredith, the finance director for the City of Grants Pass, who helped Thomason write the ballot measure on his own time when it was first put together. "I was very critical of government and the way they do business before I joined the City of Grants Pass," Meredith said. "I'm still very critical of government now that I'm a public employee, but more so at the state and federal level." According to Meredith, the state doesn't support the initiative because bureaucrats and lawmakers want to keep control of the "honeypot." However, backers of the initiative ran a poll in 2014 that showed three out of four Oregonians support the lottery act. "One thing I've realized is the more disconnected people feel to their government, the less effective that government is to provide things like public safety and maintain our parks," Meredith said. "The bottom line here in Josephine County, we have $12 million a year coming out of our county and going to Salem, and we're only getting $4 (million) to 5 million back." If the initiative is placed on the ballot and approved, county commissioners would be the ones to allocate the funds. Backers suggest they could be used for public safety, parks, natural resources and schools. "We know we have a really good shot if we can just get it on the ballot," Meredith said. "At the end of the day, if we can get it on the ballot, all that matters is what the people say, it doesn't really matter what the Legislature says." More information is available at LotteryLocalControl.com . Reach Grants Pass Daily Courier reporter Jules Rogers at 541-474-3813 or [email protected]. By Jules Rogers Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Jules Rogers Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Mar. 16, 2016 at 5:57 PM » 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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