Noting that Curry County voters should begin receiving their ballots soon, commissioners addressed what they say was a mistake — information about the county’s proposed levy not making it into the voters’ pamphlet.

Board Chair Brad Alcorn said he’s received emails and read social media comments from residents about the levy not being in the pamphlet the Oregon Secretary of States’ office sends to voters. Residents were concerned that there’s “some nefarious or suspicious reason” why that information isn’t in the pamphlet, Alcorn said.

“It looks like we’re not prepared so what else are we not prepared for? What else did we not think through?,” Alcorn said, referring to residents’ comments. “I will say as chair of this Board, ultimately it’s my responsibility. I take responsibility for that.”

Alcorn said he didn’t know that the Curry County Board of Commissioners needed to adopt an ordinance to include information about the tax levy in Oregon’s official voters’ pamphlet.

“We didn’t have one [and] we couldn’t get it done in time,” he said. “We’re not hiding anything. We’re not concealing anything. There’s no nefarious plan to trick people. We just simply didn’t make the deadline because I didn’t know.”

Curry County voters will be asked to approve a five-year property tax levy of $2.23 per $1,000 of assessed value. Revenue the levy generates would fund a 24-7 sheriff’s patrol. With the average assessed home value in Curry County coming in at $170,510, homeowners will be asked to pay $31.69 per month.

However, Alcorn said residents can call (541) 247-3248 to get their questions answered. They can also find out what their assessed property value is by clicking here.

Meanwhile, the League of Women Voters of Curry County is hosting candidate forums in Port Orford on Monday and in Brookings on Tuesday.

Organization president Louise Abbot said she has confirmation that the two candidates for County Commissioner No. 2 — incumbent John Herzog and his challenger Patrick Hollinger — will be at both candidate forums.

The three county sheriff candidates — incumbent John Ward and his challengers Jeremy Krohn and Thomas Eslinger — have also confirmed for the two forums, though one did not show up for a Gold Beach forum on Thursday, Abbot told the Outpost.

One candidate running in the Republican primary for Oregon Senate District 1 has confirmed that he will appear at the forums in Port Orford and Brookings, Abbot said.

The Republican candidates for Oregon Senate District 1 include incumbent David Brock Smith and his challengers Todd J. Vaughn, Ashley Hicks and Paul J. Romero Jr, according to the Oregon Secretary of State website.

The candidate forum in Port Orford will be held from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday in City Council Chambers at 555 20th Street in Port Orford.
The forum in Brookings will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Chetco Public Library, 405 Alder Street in Brookings.

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