City of North Bend release – On October 9, 2019, the City received the prospective petition to amend NBCC 13.30.112. On October 24, 2019 the following ballot title was filed with the Elections Officer of the City of North Bend: BALLOT TITLE Caption: Public Safety Cuts and Public Safety Fee Reduction – Question: Shall City cut Fire and Police to reduce the public safety fee and require voter approval to increase the fee? Summary: A “yes” vote decreases funding dedicated to Police and Fire Department operations to a monthly fee of $15 per occupied unit, and prevents adjustment of the fee without voter approval. The fee decrease will reduce public safety funding by $785,000 annually, and the cap will prevent further adjustment without voter approval at the general election. The result of a “yes” vote will be loss of police services from 11 p.m. – 7 a.m., detective staffing decreased 50%, no response to non-injury traffic crashes, animal complaints, abandoned vehicles, theft from motor vehicles, trespass with no other crime, thefts under $25, civil problems, medical calls, welfare checks of employees, internet fraud, and false alarms. Fire Department will not respond to emergency medical calls, non-injury traffic crashes, lift assist and code enforcement issues. A “no” vote will leave public services in place with fees at the discretion of council, but subject to a public hearing. Any elector who is dissatisfied with the ballot title may petition the Circuit Court in Coos County to review the ballot title. The petition must name the City of North Bend Council as the respondent and state the reasons the title filed with the Court is insufficient, not concise, or unfair. The petition for review must be filed with Circuit Court in Coos County no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 4, 2019. Any elector filing a petition to review the ballot title must provide written notification to the Elections Officer of the City of North Bend no later than 5:00 p.m. on the first business day after the petition is filed with the Circuit Court.
