Damascus election opponents both want local control
Groups disagree on whether measures are necessary
Ask Damascus and Save Damascus – two groups campaigning for and against four initiatives on the city’s March 9 ballot – could be seen as two different sides of the same coin.
“We’re really not that different in our goals,” said Keith Marshall, Save Damascus spokesman, adding that both groups want to mitigate the influence Metro Regional Government has on the area’s growth. “We’re just on different roads to arriving at those goals. And we think their road leads to nowhere.”
Ask Damascus founder Dan Phegley disagrees.
“Metro has been around approximately 30 years and Ask Damascus has only been around for four years,” Phegley said. “And cities across the state are passing measures modeled after Ask Damascus’ measures. So if that’s nowhere, we’ll take it.”
Phegley in late October filed the four initiative petitions appearing on the March 9 special election ballot.
In brief, the initiatives propose prohibiting light rail in Damascus without a vote, limiting the city’s use of emergency clauses to put ordinances into effect faster, limiting city spending increases to no more than 2.5 percent a year and requiring voter approval for intergovernmental agreements.
Local control
Phegley said the measures would grant Damascus residents more control of the city’s growth and development, which he said is exactly why residents voted to incorporate as a city five years ago.
Metro had brought 12,000 rural acres, most of which were in Damascus, within the urban growth boundary. Nervous Damascus residents feared surrounding cities would annex the area, developing it as they saw fit. Instead, the largely rural community of about 10,000 residents incorporated as a city to have a say in shaping their own future.
But critics say the measures would limit the city’s ability to shape future growth and fund city services.
“Really what this election boils down to is do we want to remain a viable city or do we want to open the door for Metro to begin governing us?” Marshall said.
Because Damascus is within the urban grown boundary, “We cannot keep Metro out,” Marshall said. “Our best hope is that we as a city will be strong enough to mitigate the rules that Metro would like to impose.”
Although Save Damascus is urging no votes on all four measures, the two it is most concerned about are those that propose limiting city spending and requiring voter approval for intergovernmental agreements.
Both would weaken the city’s ability to lead, Marshall said.
Phegley said that depends on how you define city.
“Is a city made up of corporations, the council or the citizens?” he asked.
“Our position is the city is the people who live there,” Phegley said.
Intergovernmental agreements
The 26 intergovernmental agreements Damascus has created since incorporation provide services such as police patrols through the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and permitting and zoning through the county.
If those agreements are voided, residents will need to vote on them either in a general election this November or in a special election. And special elections are expensive, Marshall said.
In the meantime, if the city tried to provide those same services on its own, police service alone would be twice as expensive, Marshall said.
Voiding the agreements also would make the city ineligible for $200,000 in grants Damascus was awarded last year. Those grants paid for about 5 percent of the city’s expenditures.
And there’s an issue of “cumbersomeness.” Holding elections for intergovernmental agreements and emergency clauses is inefficient, he said.
“That’s why we have representative government to begin with,” Marshall said. “So that we as citizens don’t have to be constantly bothered with changes in our system.”
Phegley disagrees.
“I don’t know how you can have local control and yet be against local people voting,” Phegley said. “Mr. Marshall is right: Democracy has always been an inefficient government. The most efficient has been a king or a dictator.”
Ask Damascus’ Web site indicates that the city’s agreements with Metro have reduced property values and property rights – particularly an agreement allowing Metro to perform transportation planning for the area.
Phegley said Damascus accepted $540,000 from Metro for exclusive planning rights in Damascus, requiring that Metro rules be followed and applied to all private property.
“Thus the city sells authority to Metro and outsiders make rules that can destroy our property values,” he said.
In his voter’s pamphlet statement in favor of the measure requiring voter approval for intergovernmental agreements, Phegley said the measure “Stops the transfer of power and decision making to Metro.”
Spending limit
As for the proposed spending limit, it would limit outside influence on the City Council while preserving local control, said Phegley. A spending limit is preferable to a tax limit because, “Metro knows how to get around tax limits by pursuing payments through intergovernmental agreements.”
Marshall, however, said the spending limit isn’t needed. The state already caps property tax growth at 3 percent a year, and since such taxes make up the bulk of what funds a city’s budget, Damascus’ spending is already limited.
Plus, if residents see a 3 percent increase in property taxes and the city increases spending by 2.5 percent, revenue from that half a percent difference would gather dust in a reserve.
Besides, “the city is not gouging us,” Marshall said. Although the city charter allows for a tax rate of $3.88 per $1,000 of assessed property value, the city is collecting less than that, or $3.30 per $1,000.
Phegley said Marshall is comparing apples to oranges.
“What we are limiting is total city spending,” Phegley said. “He’s talking about just one leg of how the city creates revenue.”
Phegley also pointed out that extra money sitting in a reserve could pave the way for a rainy day fund or be refunded to taxpayers.
Damascus measures appear in March 9 election
Ballots for the Tuesday, March 9, special election in Damascus must be delivered to Damascus City Hall by 5 p.m. Residents shouldn’t mail their ballots after Friday, March 5.
The four initiatives on the ballot are as follows:
Measure 3-350 – Prohibits light rail from being extended into Damascus without voter approval; prohibits the city from granting “monopoly status” to any one transit or transport service provider, be it public or private, such as light rail, bus or taxi service.
Measure 3-351 – Limits the Damascus City Council’s use of emergency clauses to expedite an approved ordinance. Would require city councilors to provide written explanation for why an emergency clause is needed to protect the health and safety of citizens.
An emergency clause is added to approve ordinances so they take effect immediately instead of 30 days after the ordinance is adopted. Ask Damascus says this is needed because now there’s no opportunity for citizens to challenge such ordinances because citizen referrals must be made between the time the ordinance is passed and when it takes effect. If approved, the measure would void past ordinances approved with emergency clauses – meaning the council would have to re-approve them with written explanation within 30 days after certification of election results. The measure also makes all legislative or administrative acts of the city subject to referendum up to 30 days after adoption.
Measure 3-352 – Requires voter approval for intergovernmental agreements between Damascus and other government agencies that would “obligate the city, its citizens or impose any obligations on real property within the city” unless approved by voters.
The measure also would void all existing intergovernmental agreements unless voters approve them.
Such votes would be held during a general election or during a special election requiring a double majority, meaning the vote would only pass if a majority of voters approved it and at least 50 percent of the city’s registered voters cast a ballot.
However, there are legal discussions about whether agreements with renewal dates would be affected because they could be considered contracts.
Measure 3-353 – Limits the city’s spending increases to no more than 2.5 percent a year. Spending more than that would require a vote during a general election, which are held in even-numbered years.