Marion County commissioners initiate petition to form Extension and 4‑H service district

The Marion County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Jan. 22 to initiate a petition to form a Marion County Extension and 4‑H Service District, a step supporters say would create a long‑term local funding source for Oregon State University (OSU) Extension services and 4‑H programs.

Tami Goettsch, Interim Community Services Director, told the board the county currently provides an annual allocation of $348,000 to OSU Extension and that state and federal funding cuts prompted local supporters to seek a stable funding mechanism. She introduced members of the Citizens for Marion County Extension group, who have been meeting for more than a year to plan the effort.

Derek Godwin, OSU Extension West Central Regional Administrator, described the formation process and the timeline for a May 2015 election. He said petition rules require signatures equal to 15 percent of voters from the previous gubernatorial election—roughly 15,500 valid signatures—and that the campaign plans to gather about 20,000 signatures to allow for invalid entries. Godwin also explained that each city in Marion County may opt‑in or opt‑out of the district; an opt‑in city’s voters would be allowed to vote on the district in May 2015, while opt‑out cities would not be included unless they later seek annexation.

John Burt, executive director of Farmers Ending Hunger and a member of the Citizens for Marion County Extension, told the board the group expects the effort to succeed and that a service district would provide a “long‑term, sustainable funding source” for farm support, food‑systems work and 4‑H youth programs.

Commissioners pressed staff on procedural steps and timing, including the option for the board to refer the measure directly to the ballot instead of using a petition and the public‑hearing requirements associated with creating a new district. County counsel Gloria Roy confirmed there are public‑hearing steps for a referral and that annexation and withdrawal processes would be available if cities later sought to join or leave the district.

Commissioner Janet Carlson moved approval of the resolution initiating the petition; Commissioner Patti Milne seconded. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote and the commissioners read the resolution into the record. The group planning the petition expects signature gathering to occur roughly May through September 2014 to meet the timeline for the May 2015 election.