Commissioner measures could have detrimental effects

I’m writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed change of increasing the number of Jackson County Commissioners from three to five. I believe it could have detrimental effects on our local government.

Jackson County is widely recognized as one of the best-run counties in Oregon, known for its financial stability, operational efficiency, and excellent service to constituents.

Here are my reasons for opposing this change:

• A smaller Board of Commissioners allows for more efficient decision-making. With three commissioners, discussions can be focused and decisions can be made swiftly. Adding two more commissioners may lead to prolonged debates and inefficiencies.

• A five-member Board of Commissioners increases the risk of gridlock. Disagreements and deadlocks could hinder progress on critical issues. A smaller Board of Commissioners is more agile and responsive.

• And finally, with the current three commissioner system, we get to vote for three commissioners not just two. Each commissioner represents all of Jackson County. As a member of Jackson County, we may contact each of the Jackson County Commissioners with our concerns.

I urge the citizens of Jackson County to carefully consider the implications of this proposed change. Let us prioritize efficiency, transparency and accountability over unnecessary expansion.

Our local government should focus on serving the people effectively rather than increasing the bureaucracy.

Karen F. Shrader / Phoenix

County can afford change that comes with ballot measures

That only three commissioners would govern Jackson County was decided in 1853 when the territorial census counted only 1,506 humans (ignoring Native Americans) and 930 white male voters.

The County Administrator’s overstatement of the cost to increase the board to five needs critical analysis and context. For example, the county is building a $62 million multi-use pandemic response center which will be completed a year before the five commissioners take their seats. Design that facility to accommodate the two days of Budget Committee hearings per year and you don’t need to blow $30,000 on remodeling the auditorium.

New commissioners are likely to be younger and more tech-savvy, thus more self-sufficient and efficient. The County Administrator’s support staff plan may be unnecessary. He explained that he took the FY24-25 budget currently being compiled (which the public has not yet seen), described as approaching three-quarters of a billion dollars — that’s $750,000,000 — and adjusted it to reflect five commissioners. His base case of $200,000 is a mere 0.027% of that number.

His higher-priced scenarios only ratify the need to pass all three measures to restructure the board. In November he reported $126,393,951 unreserved in the general fund. According to the current budget, three commissioners cost $983,530 /year, $327,843 per commissioner.

According to the county administrator, with passage of the measures, we get five commissioners for only $236,706 each. We should take advantage of those economies of scale.

We really can afford better government by passing the Jackson County For All measures.

Laura B. Ahearn / Applegate Valley

Former commissioner: County offices don’t need expansion

These are my thoughts on the commissioner ballot measures. As a former commissioner, I have endorsed the proposals and agree with former commissioner Dave Gilmour’s points made in his Letter to the Editor on salaries and nonpartisan status.

I will take issue with the County Administrator’s cost analysis. The expansion of the current physical footprint is overstated, as the board should make accommodations with as little structural changes as possible. The footprint of the administration and commissioners office does not need to be expanded.

We had much smaller spaces, and feel we accomplished as much or more than the current commissioners. In fact, I would suggest they need to be out hearing from the public more than sitting in large offices.

The administrator works for the current three commissioners, so of course he will make a case for leaving the status quo.

My opinion is driven by 16 years experience, not a political agenda. I think the commissioners are overpaid, as they have an administrator who does most of the heavy lifting.

Just compare to other county structures and salaries. Our population has changed since the charter was signed, so the charter should change to reflect the larger current population.

Sue Kupillas / Medford

Josephine County officials oppose changes there, too

We the undersigned elected officials declare our opposition to ballot Measure 17-116, which would replace the charter of Josephine County.

The Josephine County charter has been refined over many decades. It includes specific protections for things like 2nd Amendment rights and other elements of the U.S. Constitution. It serves our county well.

Measure 17-116 replaces our three-member commissioner board with a five-member board, only one of whom would be elected at-large. Each Josephine County citizen would only be allowed to vote for two of the five new commissioners. They would have no say in the election of the other three commissioners.

Even more concerning is that the commissioners would not manage the county — they would be required to appoint an unelected county manager who would be very difficult to terminate.

Our commissioners are directly accountable to the voters. An unelected all-powerful bureaucratic manager is not. We urge Josephine County voters to reject measure 17-116 and keep our charter as it is.

Commissioner Herman Baertschiger; Commissioner John West; State Sen. Art Robinson, R-Cave Junction; Rep. Christine Goodwin, R-Canyonville; Rep. Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass

Letter on dam removal misstated various water sources

Water from the Klamath River does not fill Emigrant Lake and enter the Rogue River Drainage. Water from Hyatt and Howard reservoirs fill Emigrant and enters Bear Creek and fills TID canals.

None of the water from the Klamath River and dams being removed enter the Bear Creek and Rogue River drainage. No one is taking water away from anyone.

Ashland gets most of its power from Pacific Power and very little, if any, from Buckhorn Springs.

Joel Wallace / Central Point

Article on costs of operating electric vehicles was biased

Your article claiming that gas powered cars are cheaper to run than electric was so obviously biased that I am surprised you did not do some research to fact-check it.

Just noticing its source should have been a red flag. There have been published studies showing that this study did some heavy data manipulation to get their results.

Here is a link to one of them: investopedia.com/electric-vehicles-expensive-power-vs-gas-7569597. There is enough misinformation out there. We don’t need you to add to it!!

Terry Ricketts / Eagle Point