Washington County Sheriff Caprice Massey and Undersheriff John Cook told the Tigard City Council that the sheriff’s office is undertaking significant jail infrastructure work, expanding crisis-response partnerships and planning a public-safety local-option levy to be placed before voters in November.

“Conserving the peace through values-driven service” was the sheriff’s described mission. Massey said the office is managing countywide duties that include the county jail, court security, search and rescue and enforcement on waterways, and that the agency is planning strategically through 2030.

Massey said the county jail is operating with fewer available beds than its full capacity because of infrastructure work and staffing shortages. The facility currently has 388 available beds while fully staffed capacity is 572, she said; major HVAC, roof and water-system upgrades will continue through mid-2026 and will keep some housing units closed during construction. Massey said the county is commissioning a jail-capacity study to forecast needs through 2055 and to estimate future facility and program needs.

Undersheriff John Cook described several countywide teams that support municipal partners. The mental-health response team (MHRT), a partnership between deputies or officers and behavioral-health clinicians, operates seven days a week with eight teams covering peak call hours; the teams respond to more than 3,000 calls per year and are staffed through a partnership with LifeWorks Northwest and Washington County Behavioral Health. Cook said MHRT’s goal is diversion from the criminal-justice system whenever possible, and he described continuity of care between field clinicians, jail clinicians and county crisis services.

Cook and Massey also briefed the council on a multi-agency Westside Interagency Narcotics Team that partners with federal and state law-enforcement agencies to target trafficking. Cook cited large seizures as part of that unit’s work and said seizures of methamphetamine and fentanyl have been substantial; he also said many officers and deputies carry naloxone (Narcan) and track local Narcan deployments. “We know that one pill can kill,” Cook said in describing fentanyl risk.

Massey said the sheriff’s office is also investing in tactical, negotiation and remotely operated-vehicle teams that together deploy more than 100 times a year in the county and provide a coordinated capability for complex, high-risk incidents.

Looking ahead, both officials said the sheriff’s office is planning a public-safety local-option levy for the November ballot that would fund the sheriff’s office and allied public-safety services including community corrections, juvenile services and the district attorney’s office. Massey and Cook said they are coordinating with county commissioners and partner agencies to finalize the rate and the package of services to be supported by the levy. They did not provide a final rate or ballot language at the Tigard presentation.

Councilors asked for clarification about how the county’s “safest urban county” assessment is calculated; Massey responded that agencies report through the FBI’s NIBRS, and the county’s combined person- and property-crime rates drive the comparative ranking. Council members also asked about staffing and bed reductions; Massey and Cook said staffing shortages after the COVID period and the protracted training time for custodial staff were primary factors constraining bed availability.

The sheriff and undersheriff invited further questions and said they would return with additional details as planning for facility upgrades and the levy proceeds.