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Josephine County considers 16¢ local-option levy to fund animal shelter and control
Summary
County staff presented a proposed 16¢ per $1,000 assessed-value local-option tax to fund Josephine County Animal Shelter and Animal Control, with staff estimating roughly $1.66 million in first-year revenue; the board moved the measure to the Feb. 27 business session and discussed ballot and timeline requirements for placement on the May 19 ballot.
Josephine County officials on Feb. 26 discussed placing a local-option tax for the county animal shelter and animal control on the May 19, 2026 ballot, with staff recommending a 16¢ per $1,000 assessed-value levy to cover shelter operations and veterinary care.
County Legal Counsel Wally Hicks reviewed the statutory and procedural timeline for referring a measure to voters and explained the ballot-title challenge period. Animal Shelter Manager Laura Jansen presented operational data and said the majority of additional levy funding would be allocated to veterinary care and mandated services. Finance Director Ruth Nelson provided a detailed rate handout showing projected revenue and cost estimates tied to both 16¢ and an 11¢ alternative.
The packet and accompanying slides show the shelter handled 2,270 animal intakes in 2025 and that animal-control officers responded to 3,394 calls for service last year (the presentation characterizes that as a 91% increase in calls since 2020). The slides state the shelter currently receives no general-fund support and that current funding mixes include a levy (~80%), shelter fees (~11%), dog licensing (~5%) and donations (~4%). The county’s proposal of 16¢ per $1,000 assessed value was presented on a slide as an average cost of $3.20 per month for taxpayers; a separate finance table in staff materials lists an estimated $1,660,934.09 in property-tax revenue for fiscal 2026–27 under the 16¢ option and an 11¢ alternative that would collect about $1,141,892.19 (the staff materials also display an “Ave Cost” column labeled $38.39; staff did not clarify in the meeting why that figure differs from the slide’s monthly figure).
Legal counsel said a formal resolution from the board is required to move the measure onto the May 19 ballot; county staff moved the item to the board’s weekly business session on Feb. 27 for that next step.
What happens next: the board must adopt a resolution to place the measure on the ballot, staff will publish the ballot title and the title-challenge period will run before the county forwards the measure to the clerk for the May 19 election.
