CRG membership has voted to support the Jail Levy.

Here is the Ballot Measure argument we will be submitting:

VOTE YES ON MEASURE 17-129

A YES vote on Measure 17-129 is crucial to public safety in Josephine County. That’s why Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG), a nonpartisan grassroots organization promoting good local governance, endorses the renewal of the five-year Jail and Juvenile Local Option Tax on this November’s ballot.

Adequate detention facilities help keep crime from paying in Josephine County. When crime pays, we all pay—through property loss, higher prices to cover theft, and potentially higher insurance premiums. These losses could ultimately cost the people of Josephine County more than the modest 93-cent levy currently on the ballot.

A jail without adequate funding might as well have a revolving door at its entrance. A juvenile facility without funding leaves vulnerable youth with fewer opportunities for local rehabilitation.

Before voters approved the levy in 2017, the Juvenile Justice Center had been closed for five years, and the adult jail was in jeopardy of having its capacity reduced to just 95 beds, according to a Grants Pass Daily Courier article published May 17, 2017.

CRG does not want to return to a time when criminals did not fear jail time for causing disruption or helping themselves to other people’s possessions.

Although inflation has eaten into the purchasing power of the 93-cent levy over the years, county commissioners have determined that they can make up the shortfall because the number of property owners in the county has grown and the county’s budget is in better shape than it was in 2017.

Good governance means putting taxpayers first and finding ways to avoid overburdening them when alternatives are available.

A YES vote on Measure 17-129 will help keep Josephine County safer while maintaining the current tax base.