Anti-tax activist raises prospect of local tax increase

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Bill Sizemore, one of Oregon's top anti-tax activists, is talking about raising Klamath County taxes to avoid cuts in public safety agencies.

Sizemore is a member of a task force of residents the county named to recommend how to cut $2.3 million from the county's $17 million general fund budget.

As in Jackson County and elsewhere, officials are struggling to make up for money the federal government used to send to timber counties.

Task force members said this week they would rather replace the loss of federal timber payments with new funds than cut the budgets of strained public safety departments.

"This isn't asking for more, just trying to make up for a loss," Sizemore said.

The district attorney, sheriff and juvenile department officials told the committee Monday how budget cuts would affect their departments.

District Attorney Ed Caleb said, for instance, he could trim $375,651 from his proposed $1.48 million budget by cutting a three of his deputy district attorneys, three staff positions and one of his investigators.

Sheriff Tim Evinger said any cuts would come from staff, either reducing his number of patrol deputies or corrections staff, resulting in strained patrol schedules or the closing 44 of 152 jail beds.

Their comments led Sizemore and fellow task force member Cheryl Hukill to talk about the public safety levy to offset lost timber funds.

— The Associated Press

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