Election issues move forward
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LAKE COUNTY – Two of three ballot issues brought to the public in Lake County during the Nov. 8 election are going back to the drawing board after failing to pass, including the Public Safety Mill Levy and the Mission School District Bond.
In the Lake County Election, the provisional and absentee ballots are counted with no need for a recount. The ballots were officially canvassed or certified on Monday with no change to the count.
The Public Safety Mill Levy failed by six votes with 317 voting against the levy and 311 voting for it. Election Official Kathie Newgard said it wasn’t the closest margin she has ever seen but it was right down to a few votes.
Funding from the failed Public Safety Mill Levy in Ronan would have been used to match a $124,311 Cops Hiring Grant awarded to the town by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Orientated Policing Services. Without matching funds, the police department will have to decline the grant.
Ronan Police Chief Ken Weaver wanted to use the funding to improve the department with the addition of another police officer, the purchase of police vehicles and equipment, and help develop a competitive wage scale for officers.
Chief Weaver is taking the i
ssue to the city council and the public to consider the options and determine how to proceed. “We have until January 1st to accept or decline the grant,” he said.
One option is to accept the grant, not use the funds, and run another mill levy vote during the next election. If it doesn’t pass a second time, the grant would be returned. Other options will be considered during a discussion at the city council meeting.
Weaver thanked people for voting and said he wants to hear public opinion about the issue to see what needs to change. Contact Chief Weaver at 406-676- 0223 or rpdchief@ ronan. net
The Mission School District Bond for $5.6 million failed by 134 votes with 719 voting against it and 585 voting for it.
“It was much closer this time,” Mission School District Superintendent Jason Sargent said. Voters saw the issue in the May 2016 election with 417 voting “no” and 235 voting “yes.”
Sargent is considering public opinion as he develops the next proposal to bring to the school board to fix school maintenance issues and develop expansion plans.
“We may not run the bond again and make cuts to staff and other areas to save money for facility needs,” he said. “It will take many years to save anything but we have to do something.” Shutting down school programs to pay for building maintenance is an option. “If we can’t fix the tennis court, we will have to shut down that program,” he said. “Things will have to go away. We like to spend money on programs for kids, but when the roof is leaking and the walls are crumbling, we have to fix them.” The proposed bond could be for a smaller amount if it runs again. “We could try to run it for just maintenance work for a smaller amount and take the gym out of the equation,” he said. Sargent welcomes public comment by phone or at the school board meetings to help develop the next plan. “We will continue to look at the options,” he said “We are not giving up. We will continue to press forward and fight for our children.” The $5,000 Preston Hot Springs Town County Public Library levy passed, and a few votes came from within Lake County that are in the Sanders County School District. Fourteen Lake County people voted for the library levy and nine people voted against it. In Sanders County, the levy passed, 405-233. “We will use the money for the phone, lights, electricity, insurance, and more books,” said Linda Landrum, chairman of the library board. “We want to thank the people for voting. We can’t thank them enough. It was a blessing.”
