To the citizens of Josephine County that voted for the Sheriff’s Districts, we thank you for your support.

The choices available to Josephine County have recently improved significantly. A few short days ago we were faced with the imminent demise of the Sheriff’s Office. Now with Federal Bailout money over the next four years, we have been given time and a way to use that time managing a transition to a more stable and secure future.

We can’t rely on continued Federal support. It took a massive national crisis to provide us this last extension. The Feds are sending us a very clear message that this is the end by reducing the level of support significantly each of the four years. We must not waste another chance to seize control of our own lives and plan for our future.

We can still create funding alternatives to the Districts, but at a minimum, the Districts provide a floor for Public Safety while we manage that transition. Funding instability causes the loss of trained personnel and resulting waste. Over the last dozen years, Josephine County has trained 98 replacement officers at an approximate cost of ten million dollars due to this continuing instability
The Federal Bailout can allow us to accelerate the rebuilding of our Sheriff’s Office at no cost to the taxpayers for two years. Utilizing Federal Bailout funds to cover anticipated deficit years in the Sheriff Districts 20-year plan would allow us to ramp up service levels now and defer collecting any taxes.

This is a real opportunity to rebuild now and pay later.

The Sheriff’s District concept is the first viable, truly equitable, most efficient proposal ever presented to Josephine County Voters. Every one of the incumbents and candidates for Commissioner has committed to use bailout funds to reduce District tax collections.

The above graph demonstrates how District tax collections can phase in while being offset by Bailout funds in the early years. The anticipated cost in the later years could similarly be offset by any funding alternatives we can develop and implement. Several were proposed by the Long Term Funding Task Force and others. No tax collections until 2010. Reduced tax collections until 2013. Time to develop alternative funding sources to allow further reductions.

This can truly be a win/win/win scenario, but only if we keep our eye on the long term and create those conditions by approving the Sheriff’s Districts. Support the Deputies who support you. Vote YES on 17-25 and 17-26.

The following is a chart of how the cost is spread out to cover the transition:
Assumptions:

Graph provided by GrantsPassNow

The Federal Bail-out is great news for Josephine County

Beginning this current budget year, the County will be receiving roughly $10.5 million in Federal support. Each year after this, for the next four, we will receive 10% less, and in 2012 we won’t receive any federal support.

Prior to 2006, we knew that federal support payments would be ending, and did little - if anything - to prepare for the aftermath. This time, we have the opportunity to change how we will respond to the end of federal support.

Passing Measures 17.25 and 17.26 gives us the chance to manage this transition into self-reliance, a chance that was wasted last time.

Because of the history of federal support to Josephine County, and the instability of that support, we have been left with a Sheriff’s Office that is severely crippled. Because of the funding insecurity that accompanies federal support, many valuable employees have sought work elsewhere. They have chosen, rightly so, to work for an Agency that can provide them with the stability of knowing their job is secure for more than just one year at a time.

The result is that the Sheriff’s Office wastes money training new employees it can’t retain. With this current four year renewal of federal support, the choice is ours to either continue to perpetuate this cycle of waste, or to gradually transition from complete reliance on the federal support payments to self-reliance through the Sheriff’s Office Districts.

The Sheriff’s Office Tax Districts are the first viable, truly equitable, and most efficient strategic plan ever presented to Josephine County.

Every standing incumbent and candidate for Commissioner has committed that Bail-out funds will be used to offset tax collections for these Districts. That means while the federal support is available and adequate, no District taxes will have to be collected. As the federal support is reduced,  the Districts will only assess those taxes necessary to ensure stability within the Sheriff’s Office.

We need to keep our Jail open, our patrols functional, and provide other mandated services that create a safe community. By passing Measures 17.25 (District 1) and 17.26 (District 2) we ensure that stability for the Sheriff’s Office.

Please vote YES on Measures 17.25 and 17.26 to stabilze future county Law Enforcement!

Prosperity without public safety is not a reasonable expectation. We must finally understand our County’s funding crisis and separate long term issues from immediate concerns for our public safety.

It is wrong to think the entire County budget is available to spend for the Sheriff. To spend grants, fees and gas taxes in ways not mandated is illegal or highly unethical. Only the unrestricted funds are available for this purpose.

O&C payments were the largest source of unrestricted funds, providing 67% of the money. With the O & C loss, we are left with 33% of what we had for services covered with these monies.

No efficiencies or reorganization can replace 2/3rds with the remaining 1/3rd without dire effects. Even if the entire remaining 1/3rd were dedicated to the Sheriff, it would not cover the current operations, let alone return us to what the tax districts will support. It would close essential services including the Assessor, Treasurer, Surveyor, and Juvenile Justice. It would cripple remaining programs including Legal and Finance.

The average rural household will pay less than $25 per month and only about $12 in Grants Pass. This is a bargain for the benefits received and the consequences avoided.

Residents pay for district services in a fair way. District 1 covers the jail, administration, dispatch, etc. that benefit everyone in the County, and will be paid for by the entire County. District 2 provides services outside Grants Pass that duplicate services paid for through the city. Residents outside Grants Pass will pay for District 2.

Taxes paid will go directly to the tax districts to insure accountability. If the benefits of a district are no longer needed, it can be dissolved just as it was created, through a ballot initiative, and with an opportunity for public discussion.

Welcome to JOCOTODAY.com. If you are here chances are someone who cares about our community has invited you to visit us. We believe that people are creative and trustworthy and that armed with facts and truth we will always “do the right thing”. Simply stated we exist to involve our community in a mutually respectful and constructive conversation focused on mutual education, solutions to challenges and creative ideas to ensure our Quality of Life.

Thank you for joining us. We look forward to hearing your ideas and opinions.

RESPONSE BY SHERIFF GIL GILBERTSON:

Mr. Johnson brings up a good point (expand comments below). I too believe we need to at least take a look at some combined efforts. I am certainly willing to roundtable the concept. Some years back the issue arose and it fell to the wayside - maybe it’s time to look at the issue again, given the financial crisis we face.

Comment by Gil — September 5, 2008

Editorial

Sometimes a kernel of truth can conceal a larger deception. Or an ill informed statement is close enough to what we want the truth to be that we believe it too easily. Even discussions with well meaning people can reinforce self-defeating positions. The longer misinformation goes unchallenged, the more entrenched and harder to correct it becomes. In an environment short on civil discourse, such poorly supported perspectives are easily embraced and can become “common knowledge” that is simply wrong. Sometimes simple math can contradict simple sound bites; no matter how appealing they may “sound“. In addition, we are confused when valid and compelling long-term concerns become mistakenly intertwined with short-term critical choices.

Much of today’s conversation on Josephine County funding issues shares these characteristics. Catch phrases or political slogans serve as entire political philosophies with little effort to examine or challenge the underlying facts or circumstances.

Prosperity with no public safety is not possible. Each of us needs to determine the necessity and worth of public safety in light of facts and truth. Let’s take a few moments to explore some of the more important and prominent misconceptions facing us today.

The County has a $100 million annual budget. Cut spending before asking for more taxes

Sounds reasonable. The County budget has historically been stated in terms of over $100 million. Unfortunately this understanding is seriously flawed in several ways. First, laws require the County to use accounting methods that inflate revenues by double counting, as both income and expense, internal transfers between departments. For every dollar of services that one department pays another, the County Budget is reported as being higher. On the basis of real money, received from outside sources, the budget for 2008-2009 is actually only $49 million.

Also problematic are legal constraints on how that $49 million can be spent. Because of funding source, approximately 83% is required to be spent on specific things. For example gas tax revenues must be spent on roads. Grants too are approved for specific uses. If those specifics are not met the money stops coming and if the task is done for less money the balance must be returned. Of the remaining 17% ($8.3 million), most of it ($5 million) comes from reserves set aside in prior years. What are left are basically the property taxes paid annually to the County of $3.2 million to pay for all County services and operations. That is the real world and those the real numbers by which we need to view our options.

If we operated just 10 to 12% more efficiently, we could replace our $12 million O&C funding loss and the problem is solved.

Clean up your own house first. Sounds reasonable. Except considerable effort and progress has already been made to do exactly that. As recently as 2005-2006 the County Operating Funds Budget was at $75 million. It is now reduced by some 35% to this years meager $49 million. Indeed we have cut our county staff to the proverbial bone and no management process or accounting method on earth can replace a $12 million loss from $8.3 discretionary budget.

No timber, no taxes.

This slogan alone does more to shut down a meaningful discussion about funding than almost all others. It carries the emotional punch of the Feds reneging on the contract with the County and espouses a financial model that worked well not very long ago. The vast majority of us would really love to see timber fund the County again. This is a decision we may manage to influence and yet it is out of our direct or short-term control. The bulk of the forestland belongs to the Feds. The lumber mills have closed. At best, it will take years to revive this industry locally. This is a classic case of confusing long term issues with short term realities. We need to find a way to survive the short term so we can succeed in the long term. The negative impact of lost O&C funding looms much closer than any chance we have to revive timber revenues.

They are going to triple or quadruple my property taxes.

This is just flat out wrong. At the proposed rates of $.99 for district one and $1.09 for district 2 (per thousand of assessed valuation) most County residents would pay little more than $30 per month for both districts, and Grants Pass residents would pay about half that much for district 1. None of this would affect taxes paid to the City, schools or bonds.

We are already paying for Sheriff Services we don’t get.

None of us want to pay for something we don’t get, or pay for something twice. The right question is; how much have we really been paying for Sheriff’s services? Answer: nothing. In fact, for as long as most of us remember timber receipts and O&C revenues have covered the entire Sheriff’s budget and then some. Total County revenue from property taxes is $3.2 million for all County services. Spread over 80,000 County residents that is about $40 apiece. Most of this year’s funding for the Sheriff is coming out of reserves set aside in prior years that are now depleted.

If nothing changes to replace these revenues, the current course will leave about $330,000 for the Sheriff’s Office in 2009-2010, roughly 3% of last year’s budget. While most new taxes are proposed to expand government programs and/or keeps up with inflation, that is not what we are being asked to consider. Rather than government growth, the sheriff’s taxing districts are required to replace critical services that we will lose if we fail to pay for our own safety.

We pay a lot in taxes. Why can’t they just move it around to where they need it.

Our annual property tax bills include revenues collected by the County on behalf of other legal entities, such as the city you may live in, the school districts, and any bonds approved by the voters. By law, these revenues go 100% to the entities for which they were collected. The fact that they are included on one common tax bill in no way makes these funds available to the County. In fact, if you take a few minutes to examine your tax bill in detail, you will find the amount paid to the County itself is a very small percentage of your total tax bill.

Just combine the Grants Pass Police and County Sheriff into one police force.

This certainly sounds appealing and straightforward. Of course it ignores the practicalities of how that combined force would be funded. No one should pay for services they don’t get. The Grants Pass Police do not have their own funding. They are financed by Grants Pass city property taxes. Residents of Grants Pass are not likely to be willingly to fund countywide police services. Nor are county residents likely to willingly pay full Grants Pass tax rates. For both, that’s only fair.

Why doesn’t somebody do something?

I agree. Apathy could destroy our quality of life. In addition to rights, citizenship comes with responsibilities. Somebody should do something. Anybody would be better than nobody. Worse yet would be for everybody to do nothing. It’s a lot of work to be an educated voter, and yet that is where we must start. Seek out the FACTS that support your positions and reject the misinformation of simple sound bites. Let’s consider the characteristics of the services we need and want and then work together to make them happen for you, your families and each other.

We are creating a new web site for “We the People” to provide an easier way to educate ourselves and facilitate a constructive civic dialogue. It will provide a fast path to “need to know” information and is focused on exploring solutions to issues that have an effect on our prosperity and shared quality of life. Ensuring long term public safety is the best place to start.

www.JOCOTODAY.com is under construction. Please come help us build it.

This message approved and supported by:

The Sheriff’s Advisory Council

• Dick Smith
• Jeff Wolf
• John Richert
• Rich Michelon
• Roy Lindsay
• Curt Bynum

Brian Bayley, Chairman, Josephine County Budget Committee

Jon Jordan, Director, Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce

Ron Dowel, Owner/Operator FastServer LLC, Grants Pass Now, JOCOCIVIC.com

JOCOTODAY.com Advisory Board

• All the above and…
• Shanin Williams
• Mick Terry
• Gary Albright

Citizens for Public Safety Education and Sheriff Long Term Funding Initiative (PAC)

• All the above and…
• ADD YOUR NAME as a supporter of this initiative. www.JOCOTODAY.com/pac-supporter
• ADD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS to The Due Diligence Report mailing list. www.JOCOTODAY.com/due-diligence-support

• “The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”. Alvin Toffler
• “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
• Benjamin Franklin said; “The best ideas and solutions lie in the hearts and minds of the people.” Like Ben, we believe in the people of Josephine County.
• Now is the time for “We the People” to be the leaders.

Announcing JOCOTODAY.com

“The” Forum for Public Education & Reasoning Together

Core Beliefs

• We are united by the Quality of Life we share in this beautiful place.
• John Q Public is thoughtful, caring, worthy of respect and wiser in accord.
• People will “check back in” to a discussion that is civil, respectful and in search of solutions
• Truth withstands scrutiny and exposes deception. The people will know the difference.
• Empowered by facts We The People are smart, well-meaning and will “Do the Right Thing“

Core Principles

— We will remain apolitical, objective and seek to ask and answer the Right Questions

— We will provide factual information and trust the people’s judgment

— We will facilitate a civil and considerate conversation in search of ideas and solutions

Our Mission

• Educate & empower “We The People”
• Facilitate a new transparent conversation driven by facts and governed by mutual respect
• Rebuild trust and confidence within the community
• Discover what is real and what is fantasy and take our fate back into our own hands
• Together, write a new chapter of prosperity and hope in the history of Josephine County

JoCoToday.com Functional Plan

— Provide a fast path to “Need to Know” information

— Facilitate a “Solutions Board” discussion focused on ideas and practical solutions

— Ensure a transparent conversation between John Q Public and our elected officials (free of spin, news editorials and outside interpretation of any kind)

— Organic growth. Enable the people to raise issues of interest and importance, present information, educate each other and facilitate solutions focused conversations

— What’s going on? What is real? How do we know? Lets find out together

© 2008 Bynum & Associates LLC. All Rights Reserved.

A Call to Reason

Josephine County Today

This report is based on three simple premises

1) We are a people united by a wonderful Quality of Life that we share in this beautiful place.

2) Our recent loss of federal funding is indeed a crisis and our Quality of Life is in jeopardy.

3) We are confused, ill-informed and we need to know who to believe and what to do.

In his 1984 best seller, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler said: “In times of rapid change, experience can be your worst enemy.” What has been our experience? We live in the midst of historic and widespread distrust of our government. We are enduring a public discourse that is emotionally charged, divisive and destructive; and some suggest the early signs of panic are visible. Today, our experience is indeed among our worst enemies. So what is going on right now? What is real?

In this election season, Josephine County is a people in the midst of turmoil, confusion and disorder. The threatened loss of federal funding that has supported public safety for so long has become a reality. While the O&C iceberg has been on our radar screens for eight years, we have all, government and the public alike, been busy rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, or as I like to call her, the good ship Lady Josephine. To what end?

On Tuesday, May 6^th, at 5:40 pm this year’s county budget was passed and the good ship Lady

Josephine struck the iceberg. The fact is that we are dead in the water and going down with all aboard. This year’s budget raided our precious library fund, will spend all of our available savings, cut the contingency fund to fiscally perilous levels and deeply cut an already crippled Sheriff’s Office accelerating the degeneration of our public safety. If we fail to change course, fact based projections clearly foreshadow a rough road ahead. Why then are we so divided and confused?

We are a people living in the midst of a pandemic of misinformation. Our public dialog is often devoid of facts and ruled by emotionally charged biases and accusations. We are captives to these “Dragons of Deception” that are fostered by false assumptions and convoluted logic. As a result I am convinced that what we don’t know far exceeds what we know…or worse, think we know. Indeed, many of our common beliefs are simply wrong. If we fail to wake up and take control of our information sources we will reap the harvest of our lack of participation. By any standard, it will fall well short of prosperity. It’s like viewing a train wreck in slow motion. It’s really hard to watch.

Old Chinese Proverb: “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right name” We the People need to arm ourselves with information ask our own Questions and discover what is real. Then and only then will we become wise and know…

Yeah but…you don’t understand. Everything around here is broken. Do you know how hard it is to find out what is really going on? What are the facts? I’m not sure I even know what I need to know, much less how to find out. What is the truth? What are the right questions? Where do we start? Who will help us? Answer: We need to help ourselves.

© 2008 Bynum & Associates LLC. All Rights Reserved.

THE LONG ENDURED CORE PROBLEM

Bias and beliefs rule over knowledge and logic

• Ask yourself: Have we been a people in search of facts and truth? Have we been reasoning together in search of solutions? Or, are we arguing ill informed views and ideologies often with child-like bravado and busy finding people to blame for our past failures?
• Our dictionary has two forms of the verb “reason”. The transitive form is described as <a carefully reasoned analysis> while the intransitive form is described as people <you just can’t reason with>
• Our core problem is that those who would seek to reason together in search of solutions have lost the battle for public attention and consideration. Why?
• Most of us have “checked out” of a broken and often vile public debate that we find destructive and often repulsive. What is the result? What has filled this void of reason?
• Today the public conversation is dominated by people who are best described by the intransitive form of reason: <you just can’t reason with them>.
• This small yet dominating group is the enemy of common sense and both their militant behavior and unfriendly communications are easily recognized.
  • They stir resentment and specialize in spreading misinformation and deception often expressed in terms of anger and even hatred.
  • They choose to remain ignorant of facts and show no interest in learning.
  • They express intolerance and show contempt for other people’s honest questions.
  • In public meetings references to Judas, Hitler, Nazi’s and other vile accusations were directed at well meaning people who simply did not share their views.
• To “We the People” in search of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they have become “The Noise That Destroys”…they are the merchants of the Dragons of Deception.
• These combatants are the people who pretend to represent the voice and will of over 80,000 people and yet they are the exact opposite of the majority. What’s wrong with this picture?
• The tragedy is that they are prevailing in their campaign of deception by waging their war of words in the face of our apathy.
• In freeing an enslaved nation, Mahatma Gandhi said: “They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.”…and together the people defeated the strongest nation on earth.
• How long will we endure the tyranny and oppression of those that “you just can’t reason with”? Will we trust our fate and our families’ future to The Noise That Destroys?
• Albert Einstein said; “An intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”

© 2008 Bynum & Associates LLC. All Rights Reserved.

OUR LIFE OUR CHOICE

Action or Apathy

• The Chinese symbol for crisis is comprised of two words; danger and opportunity.
• Leadership will determine which we harvest in greater measure. Who will lead?
• Economist Paul Romer of Stanford University said: “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. There’s nothing like being in a giant mess to focus one’s mind on fixing things.” Friends, Josephinian’s and countrymen, lend me your ear. It’s time to focus on fixing things.
• Truth can withstand scrutiny…and exposes deception.
• In the absence of knowledge, the public debate is convoluted and dangerously off topic.
• How can we fix what we have yet to scrutinize and understand?
• We are confusing long term issues and short term critical choices. (The Harvest of Danger)
• If we can separate long term from short term we will see our choices more clearly.
• Then we can discover truth and common sense and know what is real. (The Harvest of Opportunity).
• It is time for people of integrity to step forward and take up the mantle of leadership.
• One of the insidious Dragons of Deception is misguided idealism that is intended for good.
• Lacking facts and clarity of vision, many causes are born of ethical and moral values and are often championed by caring and well meaning people.
• However, misinformed and confused, even ethical and good people can betray the very values they are intending to embrace and can hurt the people they intend to protect.
• Other Dragons: The “no timber no taxes” argument. Cut the fat and no new taxes are required. True or False?
• Merriam-Webster’s second definition of the verb reason is: 2:to use the faculty of reason so as to arrive at conclusions and therefore solutions.
• We need to put our fate in our own hands. We need to check back in, arm ourselves with facts, and begin a new conversation in search of solutions.

To the good people aboard our Lady Josephine, this is your invitation to join us. Together, we can chart a new course and author a new chapter of hope and prosperity. Welcome.

© 2008 Bynum & Associates LLC. All Rights Reserved.