Keeping the public safe is one of the most important jobs of county government. The Sheriff's Office, Community Corrections (parole and probation), the Juvenile Department and Emergency Services are all part of county government. We spend the biggest share of our general fund budget on public safety, and we are delivering results.
The Sheriff is an independently elected official, so he, not the commissioners, has ultimately responsibility for operations of his office, although we do set his budget each year. I am glad to say that this Board of Commissioners and Sheriff have a very positive working relationship (unlike in one Oregon county, where the sheriff once declared of the commissioners, "They're my bankers, not my bosses."). We have been pleased to support Sheriff Dotson's efforts to expand the maximum jail population (from a low of 101 not long after I took office to the current capacity of 161) through new operating efficiencies.
One of my first projects after taking office was to work with the cities of Newport, Lincoln City and Toledo to expand our successful ordinance requiring three-time drunk drivers to forefit their vehicles. The county ordinance had been in place since 1994, and it was adopted at the time by Waldport, Yachats, Silets and Depoe Bay, making it apply within their borders as well, but the three largest cities in the counties chose not to sign on at the time. By early 2006, however, we had the measure in place throughout the county.
I was the principal advocate for bringing back the use of electronic home detention by our Community Corrections Department. The county had out-of-date equipment for which replacement parts were no longer available, and this tool was used only rarely. Now, this is another option for some offenders, who pay a fee for their participation in the program. The result? Money saved and jail beds freed up for more dangerous inmates. Here are some of the key numbers for 2006 and 2007, the first full years the program was in operation:
* Total clients served: 105
* Total jail bed days saved: 3,847
* Total savings to the county (fees collected and jail bed days saved): $330,673
* Rate of successful completion (days ordered vs. days served): 90 percent
The Board of Commissioners has participated in and supported efforts to improve our emergency preparedness. Under Commissioner Terry Thompson's leadership, we established contracts with several commercial fishing vessels to deliver food and supplies in times of major natural disaster. A large earthquake and resulting tsunami would leave our road system a shambles, making it important to have alternatives to transport essential supplies to our communities. We're also rolling out Reverse 9-1-1 in all areas served by the LinCom emergency dispatch center.
We have also asked the Emergency Services director to hold twice-a-year disaster planning exercises. One will take place each fall and focus on winter storms. The second will be in the spring and deal with a different subject each year (our first, held this year, focused on wildfires). We also introduced a matching grant program to help cities and fire districts acquire stocks of emergency supplies such as food, water and blankets.We are completing a Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, which will help us better deal with the challenges of natural disasters. In short, there's more to do, but we are making good progress.
