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In the May 21 primary election, all Jackson County voters can have their say on a trio of measures seeking to change the county’s Board of Commissioners, but some voters can also weigh in on a handful of local measures.

Ashland voters will see a pair of proposed changes to their city charter that would allow the city to appoint certain positions, while county residents within the Evans Valley fire district will decide on a tax levy designed to keep firefighter staffing at current levels.

Here’s a closer look at the county and local measures on the ballot.

Jackson County measures

Measure 15-224 puts to voters whether to amend Jackson County’s charter by making the county commissioner position nonpartisan. The organization behind this measure and two others on the ballot, Jackson County for All, argues that making the positions nonpartisan opens primaries to non-affiliated voters, who outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats.

Measure 15-225 is the charter amendment seeking to expand the number of commissioners from three to five, and Measure 15-226 proposes amending the charter to codify commissioner salaries, reducing them to $75,000.

Local measures

Ashland voters will see two additional measures that, if passed, will let the city appoint certain key positions.

Measure 15-227 seeks to make the city recorder no longer an elected position. If passed, the measure will amend the city charter “to allow for the City of Ashland to hire an individual with appropriate training and skill to fill the City Recorder position,” according to the explanatory statement for the voters’ pamphlet filed with the Jackson County Elections office.

A hired city recorder’s qualifications would include public records retention law, public meeting laws and election processes, according to the explanatory statement. Presently, the city charter only outlines the qualifications for being elected city recorder as residing within Ashland city limits and being registered to vote.

Measure 15-228 would authorize the police chief to designate another uniformed law enforcement officer to act in his capacity as the sergeant-at-arms in city council meetings.

The city charter currently requires the chief of police to attend all City Council meetings to serve as sergeant-at-arms. That “does not allow any consideration to schedule, illness or training opportunities that may conflict with the City Council meetings,” according to election filings on the measure.

Residents in the Wimer area covered by Evans Valley Rural Fire Protection District No. 6 will vote on Measure 15-229, a five-year local option tax levy intended to maintain the fire district’s current staffing levels.

The proposed levy of $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed value — up 99 cents from the levy it replaces — seeks to preserve two added firefighter positions covered by a state grant that expires in May 2026, according to an explanatory statement filed by Chief Tom Davidson with the county clerk’s office.

The firefighter positions covered by the state Fire Marshal’s Oregon Fire Service Capacity Program “have enhanced the district’s ability to respond promptly to emergencies.”

The levy, if passed, would take effect starting fiscal year 2025-26 and is expected to raise a combined $2,178,388 over five years.

Rural Jackson County voters within the Three Rivers School District will vote on a $39-million school bond designed to improve the safety and security of the district’s 14 schools and to reroof 18 buildings within the district. If passed, it will be matched by a $6-million state grant.

The 15-year bond would tax voters 55 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Among safety and security items, the bond would cover added fencing, manned gates, buzz-in entry systems, key card entry and security lighting and doors.