BAKER CITY — Baker County voters have again rejected a property tax levy to help control noxious weeds.

Voters in the May 21 primary rejected a four-year extension of the levy, which helps control weeds that reduce the value of rangeland, pastures and other property.

The measure lost by a larger margin in the Nov. 5 general election than in the primary.

In unofficial results, the measure failed 5,959 (65%) to 3,255.

In the May primary the measure lost 2,770 to 2,525.

The levy’s defeats in the primary and general elections reversed an electoral trend that dates back two decades.

County voters had approved four-year extensions of the levy, and always by substantial margins, in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020. Support for the levy was 69% in 2020, and 73% in 2016.

Craig Ward, chairman of the county weed district board, said on Nov. 7 that he was “disappointed” by the levy’s defeat.

Ward said he can only assume that a majority of voters don’t think the levy’s benefits justify the cost to taxpayers.

What the weed control levy does, and costs

For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the tax levy supplied $86,000 — about 22% of the county weed department’s budget.

However, the levy is a major source of money for certain programs, including herbicide giveaways and the cost-share program in which the weed district reimburses property owners for up to $500, said Gussie Cook, the weed district supervisor.

The tax rate, if voters had approved the levy, would have been about 6.6 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

For the owner of a property with an assessed value of $200,000 (the real market value, which is also shown on property tax bills, will likely be higher than the assessed value), the levy would have added about $13.20 per year to the tax bill.

Both Cook and Ward said the district will need to be more aggressive in applying for grants and seeking other revenue sources to replace the levy dollars.

Pine Eagle School District levy

Voters in the Pine Eagle School District rejected for the second time a property tax levy for school improvements.

In the May primary, voters rejected an $11.7 million bond sale.

In the Nov. 5 general election, voters turned down a $5.4 million bond levy.

The measure would have been repaid through an increase in property taxes within the school district that includes Pine and Eagle valleys in eastern Baker County.

The May measure was defeated 442 votes to 298.

The smaller bond sale measure in the Nov. 5 election failed 601 votes to 507 in unofficial preliminary results.

Baker City Council

All seven council positions were up for election, and there were seven candidates on the ballot, all of whom were elected.

(Some election result sites show “vote for 4,” but the Baker County Clerk’s results correctly show voters could choose up to seven.)

That includes five incumbents — Doni Bruland, Loran Joseph, Helen Loennig, Roger Coles and Randy Daugherty — as well as Gratton Miller and Stephen C. Carr.

The top four candidates — Daugherty, Coles, Joseph and Loennig — will serve four-year terms, starting in January 2025. The other three — Bruland, Miller and Carr — will serve two-year terms.

Also on the ballot

Voters rejected a countywide measure that would allow county commissioners to discuss the Greater Idaho movement on dates that commissioners choose, rather than on the specific dates set in a measure that voters approved in May 2021.

Voters defeated the change, 5,051 to 3,955 votes.

The measure votes approved in 2021 requires commissioners to meet at least three times per year, on the second Wednesday of March, July and November, to discuss the proposal to shift Baker County and most of Oregon east of the Cascades to Idaho.

The 2021 measure requires only that commissioners discuss the proposal; they don’t have to take any action.