ASHLAND COUNCIL LOCKS IN ITS RESIDENTS TO JAIL-ONLY TAX, NO MATTER HOW THEY VOTE
Jackson County residents will have to speak out and organize over the next six months if we want a more effective alternative to a 40% increase in the county portion of property taxes for the sole purpose of tripling county jail capacity.
The Ashland City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to approve the jail-only plan and to commit its residents to pay the tax if it is approved by voters county wide in May – even if a majority of Ashland residents vote no.
The Jackson County commissioners chose to structure the tax plan in a way that can only be used for expanding jail capacity and not for programs like other counties have that reduce repeat offenses, save money, and keep people out of jail in the first place through prevention, crisis intervention, diversion, and treatment.
The county’s plan also does not address the need for increased resources targeting underlying problems like mental illness, addiction, homelessness, and poverty.
The county had said publicly that if the Ashland council had voted “no,” the county would not have been able to put the current jail-only tax proposal on the May ballot.
Instead, a “no” vote would have forced the county to work with cities, community groups, Jackson Care Connect, AllCare, and other residents to develop a better, more comprehensive plan.
The county’s plan would establish a new jail-only taxing authority – a “service district” – under the control of the three county commissioners and the county administrator.
Contrary to what some council members said, the resolution they approved was not about the right to vote. As shown on the city’s website, here’s what the resolution actually said: “The City Council hereby consents to the inclusion of all the territory of the City within the boundaries of the proposed Jackson County Local Correctional Facility Service District and approves the Jackson County Board of Commissioners’ proposed Order Initiating Formation of a Jackson County Law Enforcement Service District.”
Ashland officials arranged for a series of officials from the county and agencies that have contracts with the county to speak at length at the council meeting. They listed many existing programs, most of them severely understaffed. While they acknowledged that “our mental health system is broken,” they also made it clear that county voters will be asked to approve a huge new jail before any plan is in place to address underlying problems like that.
Meanwhile, Ashland officials did not arrange any presentations from organizations that advocate for prevention, crisis intervention, diversion, and treatment, nor from other counties that have implemented innovative, cost-effective alternatives.
The 19 local residents who wanted to speak in opposition to the jail-only approach were confined to two minutes each. (Three residents spoke in favor of the county’s proposal.)
Residents pointed out that being jailed creates new trauma and new barriers to getting jobs, rental housing, and needed benefits.
They also said that this huge jail-only expenditure will make it far less likely that needed resources will be available for other approaches.
If you want to thank Ashland Councilor Julie Akins for seeking a more comprehensive plan than the jail-only approach, her email is julieanneakins@gmail.com. To write to all council members, you can email council@ashland.or.us.
The Medford City Council is scheduled to vote on the new jail-only tax on Thursday, December 19th. You can email Medford Council members at allmedfordcouncil@cityofmedford.org.
Medford City Council Vote Thursday, December 19th
When: Thursday, December 19th, starting at 6:00pm
Where: Medford City Council Chambers located at 411 W. 8th Street, Medford
Agenda: The agenda for this meeting is not available yet. It is usually published a few days ahead of the council meeting. When they are available, Medford City Council Meeting Agendas can be found here.
Community Courts: Diversion for Low Level Offenders
Join us for a presentation and Q and A with Cheryl Stone, Court Administrator of the Eugene Community Court.
When: Tuesday December 17th, 5:30-7 pm
Where: Prescott room at the Medford Police Station
Like Eugene, Medford has diversionary courts such as drug court, family court and mental health court. The presentation from the Eugene Community Court will be an opportunity to learn more about successes and failures from Eugene so that we can strengthen diversionary courts in our own community.
The Eugene Community Court aims to improve public safety and reduce misdemeanor activity in the downtown core to improve safety and quality of life for all. The process promotes responsibility in participants through a combination of supervised community service and direct connections to social service providers.
The foundation of the Community Court is a team of justice system and social service professionals dedicated to collaborating on cases to reach practical solutions. Representatives of several local social service agencies work with the Community Court team onsite to problem-solve with community members in need of assistance and connect them with services that will address their needs and help them move out of the criminal justice system and toward an improved quality of life.
Individuals are eligible if their offense was committed within the designated geographic area, the offense is identified as an eligible offense, and they do not have any violence in their past criminal history. Community members may be referred or seek services without a citation or arrest. Every participant will be asked to complete a needs assessment to help create an individualized service plan.
Hope to see you there!
~Team RAC
