Sheriff predicts further cuts to jail, patrols
EUGENE, Ore. - The sheriff predicts having to cut another 50 beds from the local jail and reduce the number of deputies on patrol in Lane County to a dozen.
Sheriff Tom Turner said his office expects to have to cut another $2 million in the next fiscal year.
"Fewer jail beds and non-existent patrol response for rural Lane County means more defendants and offenders on our streets," Sheriff Turner said.
Right now, rural patrols are down to 16 to 18 hours per day, and local jail beds are down to 135.
For 2013-14, the sheriff is set to take a $2 million cut, down to a $55 million.
Officials said it's because the county tax base is too low and several pots of federal cash are expected to run dry.
If the sheriff doesn't find new sources of revenue, the jail gets cut to 83 beds next year. The number of patrol deputies would drop from 15 to 12.
The year after that the sheriff would cut the jail to 26 local beds, cut rural patrols entirely and reduce the investigative unit to one detective.
"If you're not keeping the people charged with homicide in custody, what are you going to do with the rapists? We've got plenty of those," said District Attorney Alex Gardner.
County officials say what is needed is more money.
But how much more of a tax bill can residents take in a tepid economy?
Lane County Commission Chair Sid Leiken said the Board of Commissioners will conduct a public survey to ask voters whether they would support a levy to fund law enforcement. He said a decision is likely by February on whether to put a law enforcement tax measure on the May ballot.
"It's the citizens. What are they willing to pay, if at all?" Leiken said. "And that's something, that's why we've decided to do this additional survey."
The sheriff's office has shrunk the jail and whittled away at its staff as timber revenues and the federal payments that replaced them have dwindled.
The federal government - the largest landowner in Lane County - pays no property taxes on forests, wilderness and rangelands. Instead, counties and schools have traditionally shared in the revenues dervied from timber sales and other economic activity on public lands managed by the federal government.
How many sergeants and lieutenants will it take to run a 83 bed jail? Â KVAL has turned into a sounding board for the Sheriff's Office instead of doing any investigation. Â How about finding out how many people will be employed to run the 83 bed jail. Â ALL employees. Â Not just the deputies. Â I think that would be interesting and educational.
I bet we could save a lot on resources if we ended this stupid war on drugs. Â Legalize and tax it. Â The jail beds should be reserved for the worst of the worst.
get rid of the sheriff then, who needs him
Good any reduction in the parasitic police state is welcome.
Police, and lawmakers are the bad guys anyway.
At a time when law enforcement has no ability to protect the citizens and citizens must do more to protect themselves from violent criminals, the Obama regime is aking every possible effort to keep American citizens from owning the only effective means of self protection;  the firearm.  Gun control to Obama and Lyin' Joe Biden is really people control and the right to bear arms is restricted to the federal forces armed with literally millions of .40 caliber hollow point rounds.  Anyone who does not want to live under a dictatorship will do every legal thing in their power to resist Obama's current citizen disarmament scheme.  After that, should he prevail, remember the four boxes:  the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.  Molon labe.
Eugene may have no Police force or Jail but this leaves more money to pour into tent cities for bums.
It is going to get worse, because the public unions refuse to make concessions. The PERS is out of control, with projections of anywhere between 12 billion to 90 billion in the red. It is all unsustainable and destined to collapse even if a levy is passed because they refuse to reform. It is time folks  figure a way to protect themselves and their neighbors. I am prepared and have been for sometime. Once the system is allowed to collapse or go bankrupt then it can be rebuilt.
Maybe looking at the County's DA office and their enormous waste of tax paying dollars and mishandling of dollars could also be a contributor to why there is no money.It costs money to take people to court.Some of these cases could be handled by the municipal court.There are prosecutors working for the DA's office that don't seem to care about how much time and money they waste pursuing a conviction on simple misdemeanor charges. Especially now that there are no beds in jail to house anyone ,and if they are sent to jail, will be kicked loose in a day or so.. We, the tax payers, pay for this waste of time and money...
If the city of Eugene would stop mooching off the county and other cities to deal with there criminals Eugene would be a much safer town. As it is, Kitty stated this morning (on another network) that she is trying to work with the county and state for find solutions while paying the county and the city of Springfield for there beds. Stop expecting bigger government to take care of your trash and build your own 100 bed jail. Even if the county can't hold someone on felony charges they can be held in a city jail on lesser charges. A criminal can be sent to a city jail for up to 1 day less the 1 year, wouldn't it be nice if a burglar was locked up for 3 months instead of 3 hours only to disappear. Pressure your local government to step up to the big boys/girls plate and build there own justice center. Stop letting Kitty and her council put you and your families safety in jeopardy because they don't want to admit they need to be responsible for local crime.
How many millions of dollars could the county raise by selling a couple of its many parks?
if they would stop worrying about stuff we the employers dont care about they would have room for criminals, if they would stop spending 100k on suvs they would have more money, if they would stop send 20 cops to arrest a one legged 90 year old they would have more resources,
Time for Sheriff Tom Turner to be LET GO! You cannot have a police force without a jail- it simply is ridiculous. I for one will NOT be voting for any new levies for this Sheriff and his force. Good luck trying to get another ballot measure through.Â
 @LifeisGOOD007 WE have a helicopter, new cop cars and a nice multi million dollar energy efficient upgrade to the closed jail...we got a really nice marine patrol set up with a trick boat and tow vehicle..
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what doesn't make sense about that?
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golly, I wonder....
nope, no helicopter, been gone for a while. no new cars either. marine patrol and the boats associated are completely funded by the Oregon State Marine Board, which is not funded by tax dollars (funded by fishing/hunting/boating licenses).
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Sheriff Turner does not make or set his budget. he has to make due with what the Commissioners alot the Sheriff's Office each year. you do the math, if the money alotted to him to run the Sheriff's Office is shrunk every year, what is he suppose to do? There are some functions he is required to fund by State law/Oregon Constiturion, however funding cuts have come for so many years in a row now, he is faced with having to reduce/cut funding to State mandatory programs.
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perhaps you can review the facts, and perhaps learn something about civics and local government.Â
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Municipal Jails are not cheaper to run, they just aren't, and they serve a different purpose than a county Jail, which by Oregon Constitution is the only place pre-trial felons can be held.
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how do you think other counties fund services? either temporary (or in the case of Deshcutes County a permant) tax levy.
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Most all of us pay a fire district tax in order to have fire and ambulance services. How is that different than the service of the jail? no fire tax, no fire protection. no money for jail, no offenders locked up.
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someone mentioned PERS. I bet most of the employees in the sheriff's office are not the folks getting the old PERS deal. PERS will fix itself through attrition, that old gravey train has essentially dried up... and I read in the paper a while ago that all the sheriff's office staff voluntarily took a benefits package reduction to help save money. Nevermind they do a job most of us wouldn't even consider doing. the paper said they are talking about $.50/$1000. I did the math for me, it's less than $10/month. If it means keeping creeps in jail, I'll pay it. I'd cover my neighbors for him if it came to that.... that's cutting out a couple fast food trips a month, which wouldn't hurt me any anyway...Â
So with a $57 million budget tell me what we are getting for that.Â
@Pit Bull Fascism,parasitization of the driving public, new cars, millitary hardware and millitary guns for killing citizens with...
@Pit Bull if you look at the county website's job titles and salaries you will see that a county employes figure skating specialist earns $36,213 to start and tops out at $50,190.
I agree with IAMHIGH,why even have them. This is just another ploy to get more money out of the Lane Co. tax payer by scaring them. An effective sheriff would make the budget work. Keep the dirt bags locked up all the time,maybe let them out once a day to shower,other than that keep them locked up. How many staff members are needed for that. If times are tough make it harder on the person locked up,not the law abiding general public,maybe when kept locked up all the time they won't want to come back? Honestly though what is the point anymore??
So why even have Fing cops and jails,we payed for the buildings and we can't afford to run them. Lets let the homeless live there then at least somebody will be using it then. it's really sad that the city and state can't find a dime for jails or law enforcement but we got money to fund homeless camps so crimes can and will be commited.
I myself will be not looking for police to do anything to help me just don't see it happing if you reduce the force than it falls back on you and me !!!!