Q: What is the Tigard Public Safety Renewal Levy?

A: We are asking Tigard to renew the Public Safety Levy, which was passed originally by voters in May 2020. The 2020 local option levy was a five-year levy. In May 2024, the City will ask voters to renew those investments through a vote. The renewal will provide critical investments in public safety and maintain current patrol staffing in Tigard.

Q: Has it made a difference?

A: The levy has allowed the City of Tigard to make critical public safety investments, including:

• Eight police officers to respond to rising calls for service,

• One School Resource Officer to enhance student safety,

• One Property & Evidence Specialist to handle the additional workload from rising calls for service,

• One Records Specialist to support data-informed policing and manage an increase in police records,

• Advanced Crisis Intervention and De-escalation Training for all patrol officers, to address an increase in mental health crises.

These additional staffing resources make it possible to meet minimum staffing requirements across three daily patrol shifts.

Before the levy passed in 2020, minimum staffing levels for patrol had not increased in Tigard since 1995. Even with the levy, there are times when there are only 3 patrol officers on duty across the entire city.

The need for the levy has only grown since it was first passed in 2020. In 2022, we saw 1,000 more calls for service over 2021. Many of these are increasingly complex, requiring several officers to spend significant time resolving the issue. As the City of Tigard continues to grow, police staffing has not kept pace.

A:  We estimate that the average Tigard property owner pays less than $8 per month, based on continuing the current rate of $0.29 per $1,000 of assessed property value. It would not increase tax rates.

Q: Is the city going to ask voters to increase taxes?

A: No. Voting to renew the levy would mean that Tigard property owners have the same rate that’s already in place and that was approved by voters in 2020 – less than $8 per month for the average property owner. This would not increase tax rates.

Q: What happens if we don't continue the Public Safety Levy by voting to renew it in May 2024?

A: If the Tigard Public Safety Renewal Levy does not pass before the current levy expires, it will create a budget shortfall in maintaining current police services.

Q: Where do my tax dollars go?

Q: Why does the City of Tigard need a special levy for public safety and police staffing? Can't the city use tax revenue from new growth?

Tigard’s population growth has stretched the Tigard Police Department.

Tigard police calls continue to grow. In 2022, the Tigard Police Department saw 1,000 more calls for service over 2021. Many of these are increasingly complex calls, requiring several officers to spend significant time resolving the issue. 

At any given time, there are only 3-5 patrol officers on duty in Tigard.

In 2019, an independent expert recommended that Tigard add eight police officers and one School Resource Officer to "right size" the Tigard Police Department to match similarly-sized cities around us with similar police calls for service. Since then, the City of Tigard's population has only continued to grow.

Like police departments around our region, The Tigard Police Department is facing staffing challenges due to retirements and other kinds of attrition, challenges in hiring new officers and fewer candidates applying for openings.

Unfortunately, revenue from growth won’t help fill the gap. Despite new development in areas like River Terrace, new city growth and associated tax revenues from these properties fall short of ongoing city expenses and a supplemental funding source must be identified to maintain police services.