Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Local option levies for police and library services on May 16’s ballot failed because they did not meet the 50-percent voter turnout requirement.
More than 49 percent of registered voters in Sweet Home did vote, and they approved both levies, the library 62.5 percent to 37.5 percent, and the police 57.4 percent to 42.6 percent.
The levies provide 100 percent of funding for both library services and law enforcement, although under the existing levies, the Police Department has been receiving help from the city’s general fund the last three years.
The existing library and police levies expire on June 30, 2007. The levies on the May 16 ballot would have run for four years beginning on July 1, 2007.
Linn County Clerk Steve Druckenmiller said Sweet Home missed 50 percent by about 30 voters.
City Manager Craig Martin said he was concerned about possible confusion about the levy, “but the support showed people knew the facts. Hopefully, they’ll do it again next time we run it.”
“I’m really comfortable with the support we got,” Councilman Tim McQueary said. He expects the city will probably go out again in November.
Sweet Home had the second-highest turnout in Linn County, behind Harrisburg, which had a tax for parks on the ballot. The county had 43.8 percent turnout.
“Too bad we didn’t convince 30 people we’ve arrested to vote no,” Police Chief Bob Burford said. “We would have passed the levy.”
“I’m happy with the turnout we got,” Martin said. “To fall 1 percent short is disappointing. It’s happened before, we fall short one or two or three votes.”
Burford said there were some problems with ballot distribution. He said he heard repeated stories from political action committee members about people who were receiving ballots but not living in Sweet Home, including one of Burford’s neighbors who moved at least two years ago, and an employee’s parents, who moved out of the city into the county years ago.
Multiple people swore they never received a ballot, Burford said. “It’s just in a perfect world, we believe the 50-percent rule wouldn’t be bad;” but combine it with registration list problems and things like the motor voter bill, which registers people who are not likely to vote, it does become a problem.
“The county clerk’s office does a phenomenal job,” Burford said. “They’re working with administrative rules and statutes that are complex. They just do a phenomenal job with what they have to work with.”
The political action committee gave Linn County Clerk Jim Druckenmiller a list of things it found, Druckenmiller said. The county must follow state and federal laws, which protect voter registration. The county has two main ways of learning about address changes and changing its records: Postal returns and voter contact.
Removing people from the voter lists isn’t as easy as it once was, Druckenmiller said. If a ballot does not come back as undeliverable or voters don’t inform the county, the county cannot generally change the registration.
The Post Office does a remarkable job of letting the county know about changes, Druckenmiller said. This election, the clerk’s office received 6,000 ballots back as undeliverable.
The list from Sweet Home had 17 voters with issues, Druckenmiller said. Among those, one voter is dead. The reason that name could not be removed is that the county did not receive certification about the death until after the election.
Another one was a double-entry error made by the clerk’s office, and that one can and will be changed, Druckenmiller said.
Prior to the election, if someone challenges a voter’s address, Druckenmiller can call a hearing and make a determination about the voter’s proper address.
Voters cannot be moved to an inactive status until they miss two straight general elections, Druckenmiller said.
Although Sweet Home didn’t quite make it to 50 percent, “I think it’s wonderful that we had the higher percentage voter turnout,” Burford said. ” I would have liked to have gotten those extra 30-plus votes and validated the will of those that did vote. It would have allowed us to get on with strategic planning earlier.”
At this point, “we have no choice but to go out for the same thing,” he said.
“We’ve given the numbers we need and can’t live with less. We’re good stewards of public funds. If we don’t perform, I can understand voters saying no, but I think we’ve performed.”
Burford’s main concern with the November ballot is that it is long and drawn out, he said. The levies will be at the bottom.
In the race for Linn County sheriff, incumbent Tim Mueller won with 77 percent of the vote, winning his first four-year term after being appointed to the position in June 2005. Michael Spasaro captured 19.47 percent of the vote, and Keith Leopard had 3.26 percent of the vote.
Incumbent John Lindsey defeated Bill Tacy for county commissioner in the Republican primary. Lindsey will face Democrat Glenda Fleming in November.