Voters in Lebanon have rejected a proposal to re-open that city’s jail.
The city proposed the five-year property tax levy in order to open up the 12-bed jail, which has been closed since 2023.
For a property with an assessed value of $242,000, the city said the levy would cost about $297 a year, or roughly $25 a month.
When the jail was still open, Lebanon police officers were frequently pulled off of patrol duties to staff the facility, City Council President Michelle Steinhebel told KLCC last month.
The proposed levy was meant to provide funding for additional staffing, so the jail could operate without diminishing the police department’s ability to keep officers on the streets. The jail was primarily used for people accused of misdemeanors.
But Lebanon voters weren’t keen on the idea.
In fact, of the roughly 20 tax measures that were rejected by Oregon voters statewide this election, the Lebanon jail levy failed by the widest margin of them all.
Current results show four out of every five voters in Lebanon said “no” to the levy: an 80% rejection rate.
