Commissioners serving on Josephine County’s budget committee voted Monday to restore the remaining funds and to resume collecting taxes for the district.
Commissioner Ron Smith said previous commissioners made a mistake when they defunded the district last year.
“It’s time for the community to come together and support this organization," he said. "It was a travesty that it was undone. I think we should make it right as a board.”
Commissioners defunded the district based on claims that Oregon State University wasn’t being transparent about the tax revenue it gets from the county. They also wanted the funds to be used for livestock education, rather than a broader range of programs. The extension service provides support for farmers, gardeners and forest managers in the county.
Jamie Davis, the Southern Oregon regional director for OSU's extension service program, said she was surprised but glad to see that commissioners want to bring back these programs in full.
“The commitment to re-certifying the tax levy is really helpful for when people are looking to work with OSU extension service in Josephine County to have that local commitment," Davis said.
Smith introduced the proposal to resume tax collection during Monday's meeting. County staff had initially recommended a slower return by allowing the district to access previously collected funds to hire office staff and start rebuilding programming. Davis said collecting tax revenue again should speed up that process.
The board of commissioners still needs to approve the district's final budget later this month. But two out of the three commissioners supported restoring the tax and funding during the budget hearing.
Rebuilding the extension service will take time, Davis said. If approved, faculty could begin assisting people in Josephine County starting on July 1. But the county offices were shuttered after they lost funding, and local support staff were let go. Davis said they'll have to recruit people to come back and work for the district.
It will also take time to bring back programs like 4-H and the master gardener program. Luckily, Davis said volunteers have been waiting for this moment.
"They have been on standby to support the return process," she said. "Through their commitment, it will make this process so much easier to begin."
