The Lincoln County Veterans Resource Center is located east of downtown Newport on Southeast Bay Boulevard in a building away from the county’s other departments.
Friday, Nov. 7, update:
The margin of defeat of a property tax levy to fund Lincoln County’s Veterans Services office narrowed to just 15 votes after a third round of ballot counting Friday, according to the county clerk’s office.
When the first round of counting was completed Tuesday night, the levy was losing by 97 votes. On Wednesday the margin narrowed to 34 votes. There was no release Thursday, so the third round of counting was completed at 5 p.m. Friday.
The vote now stands at 6,920 to 6,935 — with 93 percent of 13,880 ballots counted, according to the clerk’s office. Turnout so far is just below 35 percent.
Because of the Veterans Day holiday on Tuesday, the next release of results is not until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12.
“I am encouraged by the closing of the gap,” Veterans Services officer Keith Barnes said in a text to the Lincoln Chronicle after Friday’s results were released. “I think we will prevail when all the votes are counted, but it will be close.”
By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle
The election results of a property tax levy to fund the Lincoln County veterans services office narrowed to it losing by just 34 votes, updated returns showed Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, the sole measure on the local ballot was trailing by a margin of 97 votes of more than 10,600 counted – 5,398 to 5,301 with 85 percent of ballots tallied. On Wednesday, that losing margin dropped to 34 votes — 6,651 to 6,685, according to new figures from the county clerk’s office.
C
ounty clerk Amy Southwell said 90 percent of all ballots had been counted by 5 p.m. Wednesday — with the next results not released until 5 p.m. Friday and then for a final time on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
“The results are too close to call but I feel encouraged by the first round of tallies,” Veterans Services officer Keith Barnes told the Lincoln Chronicle on Tuesday night.
Barnes said Tuesday night that he felt better knowing that the vote was so close because other Oregon counties had failed to pass similar levies by such a wide margin. If the measure failed he said the close results could prompt the county to try and go after the levy again for the May ballot.
“I’m a little disappointed it didn’t pass the first round (of counting),” Commissioner Walter Chuck said Tuesday night. “I’m going to hold my breath and hope that it passes.”
Barnes said, however, that because of news around the department’s levy request, his office has received more than a dozen calls from local veterans who didn’t know the county office existed.
“We have been able to set up appointments and will be providing services to them,” he said.
Although Oregon law allows voters to fund sheriff’s departments and veterans services via levies, there was uncertainty surrounding the levy from the start. Levies have had little success in rural Oregon in recent years. In 2017, Tillamook County voters turned down a levy that would have cost 5 cents per $1,000 assessed property and last year voters in Josephine County did the same.
The proposal was publicly discussed just once in a Lincoln County commission meeting Aug. 6 and was unanimously approved the same day, just three months before election day. The levy had no formal campaign pushing it and one commissioner later regretted his vote to put it on the ballot.
The levy aimed to move the veterans services department away from the county’s struggling general fund to a levy-funded department that would have collected 3.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for five years starting in 2026. That translates to $10.50 a year for property assessed at $300,000.
Barnes said the levy would add a layer of security amid local, state and federal financial uncertainties.
While Barnes said moving away from the general fund’s support was the main reason for the levy, not all commissioners were on board. Commissioner Casey Miller said in late October that while he supported Veterans Services he did not approve of the levy solely funding the department and felt that wasn’t communicated clearly at the commission’s August meeting.
If passed, the levy would also add a part-time staff member whose sole responsibility is outreach by sitting in hospital lobbies with brochures, manning booths at farmers markets, car shows and anywhere veterans in Lincoln County might be in order to let them know of the benefits available to them.
- Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]
I understand that some people objected to this measure because it was taking funding for the service out of the general fund. But, come on folks! You can’t spend a lousy $10.50 on a $300,000 home or $31.50 on a $900,000 home to help our veterans? I am very surprised by this outcome. Makes voters here look bad.
My thought exactly. I was a little skeptical about the use of the funds, but I can afford $10 per year.
Please understand that not everyone can spare the extra money this would cost since it’s in addition to what we already pay to live here. Taxpayers and those with property already pay a lot to live here. When I witness irresponsibility at the county commission level I’m very hesitant to support giving them even more of my limited money. They have used our dollars to finance their ridiculous infighting by hiring investigators, attorneys etc. Residents are not a bottomless piggy bank!
Here’s a question; Why does the 3 person commission have their own counsel and a deputy counsel, as well?
Another question; Why did this proposal come up only once at a country commissioners meeting, which are no longer accessible by the public through zoom, and immediately approved? I want even aware of it until I received my ballot. No description of need, no information of any import exception this is what you should expect to pay through your taxes which keep going up. I can’t be informed without information.
The Veterans have been getting funding out of the general fund every year to man a support office. The proposal was to take this money out of the General Fund and make it a every 5-year vote to fund the Veterans support office. The proposed rate would raise approximately $342,000 in fiscal year 2026-2027, $352,600 in 2027-2028, $362,827 in 2028-2029, $373,711 in 2029-2030, and $384,923 in 2030-2031, for a total of $1,816,061 for anything the commissioners wanted. That seems underhanded. If they have a special 5 year project like the reservoir or infrastructure to build housing in South Beach, that would be appealing to many voters to temporarily increase taxes for a specific finite purpose. But having to put money on the line every five years for veterans doesn’t sound like a great deal for veterans.
Well said, Elaine. I agree. I also add that property owners would be on the hook to support veteran’s services instead of the general fund which gains revenue from a broader scope of taxpayers. Your point about revisiting this every five years is perfect.
As an aside, if the county continues to come up short maybe they should look internally to tighten efficiencies and cut waste such as paying rent for an unused office …
Good on you Lincoln County voters.
Lincoln County, the community does not trust you to steward our public funds; nor should we given the exorbitant amounts we are already being charged for property taxes.
The economy is tanking, yet Lincoln County has taken extreme measures to scorch the only growing segment of the economy — hospitality.
Lincoln County has the sixth highest property tax rate in Oregon – almost on a par with California – and yet cannot properly fund the sheriff’s office. Please keep this in mind when you pay high property taxes, because we are not getting what we paid for.
The continued bad press and commissioner scandals are undoubtedly scaring many prospective buyers away.
Please folks, wake up and lose these commissioners and find some business friendly/community engaged ones who won’t drive the county into insolvency. Otherwise, your property taxes will continue to skyrocket and your safety to deteriorate.
I love and respect our veterans but I am also retired and working part time and times are tough right now. I have other bills as well and yes that $30 or more would be a hardship right now so don’t try and guilt trip people when everyone’s circumstances are different and some worse than others. Please look around and notice the homeless as well.
Sam, I understand your concern about the financial burden $30 extra a year will put on you. We are also retired property owners in Lincoln County. If our property taxes went up $2.50 a month to contribute to the funding of the Veterans’ Service Center I would have no problem paying that!
As the wife of a disabled Veteran I have to say that the Veterans’ Service Center does great service to the community. When the PACT Act was passed we discovered that my husband’s CLL (a form of Leukemia) was one of the diseases caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Looking at the mass of paperwork needed to apply to the VA for coverage we knew we needed help. They helped us complete the paperwork & submit it. Thank heavens for that. I am certain that we he is not the only Vet in Lincoln County covered under the PACT Act.
We recently learned about burial benefits, between the funeral home and the Veterans’ Resource Center we got our final wishes finalized. Now no one will have to worry about that.
Now with all the changes happening at the VA we appreciate the gentleman working at the Service Center’s promise that he would make sure my husband did not lose his benefits. Losing those would mean we would more than likely lose our home and so much more.
A quick search on line got me this information:
“The Lincoln County Oregon Veterans Service Center serves approximately 4,325 veterans annually. The office conducts outreach to a total of over 5,200 veterans in the county.
The office helps veterans and their families with various services, including:
Filing service-connected disability claims
Accessing healthcare
Obtaining education benefits
Assistance for surviving spouses
Arranging transportation to medical appointments
In a recent reporting period, the office helped deliver over $5.6 million in total benefits back into the local economy through successful claims and established approximately $380,221 in new monthly benefits and over $1 million in retroactive compensation.”
Is $30 a year is too much to pay for so much benefit to Lincoln county and the residents. I understand that property taxes are high but is $2.50 a month too much extra to pay? I am terribly sorry if it is.
I voted no, not because I’m against funding Veteran’s Services, but because of how this was mismanaged by Mr. Barnes, County Commissioners and County Counsel. Nothing in Mr. Barnes’s presentation or in Commissioner’s comments clearly stated that the proposed levy was to *replace* current funding. The entire conversation was about the benefits of a “slight increase” in income for outreach services.
When I received my ballot, I was astonished to see that the ballot language didn’t accurately reflect the presentation and discussion I witnessed during the August 6, public meeting in any way. The ballot language was the first and only notification that the levy was intended to replace, not supplement, money from the general fund: “The Veterans Service Office is mostly funded by the County General Fund. The Veterans Service Office would receive no General Fund dollars while this five-year local option tax is in effect.”
I’ve read that Commissioner’s signatures were “applied” to the order calling for the election, which makes me wonder if any of them actually reviewed the language in the order prior to printing the ballots. Someone needs to take responsibility for this discrepancy, but after what we’ve witnessed from this Board, I’m not hopeful that even one of them has the integrity to do so.
We may have the opportunity to remove Commissioner Hall as soon as January. Next year we can replace Commissioners Miller and Chuck. It may be time to just start fresh.
I can’t imagine starting from scratch with an entirely new board of commissioners, ever. The complexities of this job requires hard working individuals that have experience working with government departments and county entities. They must be willing to put the interests of Lincoln County residents first. We have only seen a sort of bravado from Commissioner Miller, but not much substance in his work. Neither has he completed his remediation to work back in office.
I think it’s a fair assessment to say that the five year tax levy would need to be reevaluated so as not to increase a burden on struggling families or individuals if it is not approved by voters this time and is added to the May ’26 special election.
Mary, respectfully, serving as Country commissioner is not rocket science. The role carries with it the overriding responsibility of public service, which implies dedication, consistency and a willingness to learn and grow with the position. But connecting with those you serve must be a priority as the needs of the county’s citizens shape the county. However, no one should serve more than a couple of terms no matter how much they are appreciated because to do so invites entrenchment and consolidates power.
Shame on us!! Only 33% of Lincoln County’s registered voters returned their ballots for this election. Every election is important. The fact that there was only one issue to vote on doesn’t make it any less important. The right to vote is a privilege that many people in this world can only look at with envy.
Don’t wait for November 2026 to have your voice count. The May 2026 primaries will probably decide some very important races. Remember – Every Election is Important AND Every Vote Counts!
Doesn’t Oregon have a 50% or greater voter turnout requirement for new taxes? Oregon Measure 53 was defeated in 1998. Measure 53 would have eliminated the 50% requirement. Did something change since that time?
That got repealed years ago, I believe by measure 56. One exception, 50% turnout and 50% approval by that turnout is required for local elections raising taxes but only those elections held in March and September.
Correction: Ballot Measure 56 eliminated the requirement for 50% turnout and 50% approval for local tax increase elections held in May and November. So it still applies to elections held at other times:
https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Measure_56,_Eliminate_Voter_Turnout_Requirement_for_Property_Tax_Elections_Amendment_(2008)