Oregon Primary Voters Weigh Nearly 100 Local Measures, Many Aimed at Rescuing Underfunded Fire Districts
Why It Matters
Oregon residents in 30 of the state’s 36 counties face a lengthy list of local ballot measures this primary season, with many asked to approve property tax increases or bonds to keep fire departments and emergency services operational. The stakes are high: fire districts across the state warn they are stretched thin at a time when wildfire seasons are growing longer and structural fires are becoming more intense.
What Happened
Oregon’s May 19 primary ballot includes nearly 100 local measures covering everything from fire district funding and school bonds to library creation, city charter updates, and land annexation. The breadth of the ballot reflects mounting financial pressure on local governments constrained by decades-old property tax limits.
Fire funding dominates the list. Voters in 12 counties will decide on tax levies or bonds requested by 28 separate fire districts struggling to cover staff and operating costs. One fire district in Sandy is also asking voters to approve a merger with the larger Clackamas Fire District.
Brian Stewart, assistant chief of strategic services at Clackamas Fire and legislative chair for the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association, pointed to two ballot measures passed in the 1990s — Measures 5 and 50 — as root causes of the funding gap. Those measures tied property tax assessments to rate-limited values rather than market prices, effectively capping revenue growth for local governments. Urban renewal districts and enterprise zones compound the problem by further diverting dollars fire departments could otherwise access.
“We’re all across the state feeling the pressures. We’re all underfunded for what the community expectations are,” Stewart said.
Stewart also noted that fire seasons that once ran from late July through August now stretch from May to October, increasing demands on departments already relying on volunteers and lean budgets.
By the Numbers
- Nearly 100 local measures appear on primary ballots across Oregon’s 30 counties.
- 28 fire districts in 12 counties are seeking new tax levies or bonds.
- Voters in 16 counties will consider new bonds or property tax measures for schools, parks, and libraries.
- Hood River’s pool, built in 1948, could be renovated under a bond that would cost taxpayers 64 cents per ,000 of assessed property value.
- Grant County’s proposed library taxing district would levy 50 cents per ,000 of assessed value to preserve the county’s only library, which faced elimination amid a .5 million budget shortfall.
Beyond Fire: Schools, Libraries, and Charters
The same property tax limits squeezing fire departments have also left parks, schools, and libraries scrambling. Hood River’s Parks and Recreation District is asking voters to fund a replacement pool at the Hood River Aquatic Center, a facility largely unchanged since it opened 78 years ago. Measure 50 has held the park district’s property tax rate at 35 cents per ,000 of assessed value for roughly 30 years.
In Grant County, residents organized a grassroots effort to save their sole library after county officials identified it as a budget-cut target. Every town and city in the county passed a resolution backing a new library taxing district, and organizers gathered enough signatures to place the question before voters.
City charter updates are on the ballot in 10 cities and one county. In Eugene, voters will weigh removing a residency requirement for city department heads and replacing gendered pronouns in the city charter with neutral language. In Corvallis and Warrenton, voters will consider aligning local charters with a model framework used by a statewide local governance association.
Idaho Border Movement Faces Local Test
In Wallowa County, a measure asks voters to end mandatory twice-yearly county commissioner meetings about potentially leaving Oregon to join Idaho. The county voted in 2023 to join more than a dozen eastern Oregon counties expressing support for the Greater Idaho Movement. Now a local group wants to eliminate those required discussions.
Matt McCaw, executive director of the Greater Idaho Movement, said the underlying sentiment won’t disappear even if the meetings do. “The people of Eastern Oregon feel detached from Western Oregon and they would prefer the state-level governance of Idaho over Oregon,” he said.
For more on eastern Oregon political shifts, see our coverage of six rural Oregon Democrats competing to unseat U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz.
What’s Next
Oregon’s primary ballots must be returned by May 19. Results from the fire district levies, library district creation, and annexation votes will shape local budgets and service levels heading into the second half of the year. Should voters reject the majority of fire funding measures, district officials have warned that staffing cuts and reduced response capacity could follow during what is expected to be another active wildfire season. Readers interested in the broader Oregon political landscape can also follow the latest developments in the Oregon GOP governor’s race.
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