Voters in the Madras area will decide on Tuesday if they want to spend more of their property taxes on the local Aquatic Center.
Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins hopes the levy doesn't pass. He explains that under the newer tax laws they are under "compression" which means the tax rate is capped. The end result is a "yes" vote for pools turns into a partial "no" vote for the county jail.
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"with jefferson county being about 30 percent into compression- i'm worried that if this pool levy passes its going to negatively affect my jail levy- last year i lost about 250 thousand dollars just because of compression - people are being taxed at the limits and that means i bring in less income."
The levy is asking voters for an additional 40 cents per $1000 of assessed value to be added to the current 25 cents per thousand. Leaders at the Aquatic center say its an important investment into the local community. They say if the levy fails they would have to close it down for several months a year.
The Aquatic center has the only public swimming pools in Madras and serves as the town's recreation department, which also runs the youth and adult sports programs.
Under compression the tax rate for local governments is $10.00 per thousand, and sheriff Adkins says they are already under "compression" in several parts of Jefferson County.