Albany Democrat-Herald from Albany, Oregon • 5

ALBANY (ORE.) DEMOCRAT-HERALD, THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1982 5 Cities endorse library-district plans Lebanon police force could lose five patrol officers next month Albany library head Wayne Suggs says cities would turn over operation. culating petitions, Suggs said. The task force could have requested the Linn County Board of Commissioners to form the district Itself, Suggs said, but those involved in the project decided to circulate petitions to get reaction on the plan from the public. If the petition drive Is successful, voters would cast ballots to choose the district's board of directors at the same time they decide whether a district should be formed. Once a board Is elected, the district's officials will work out details of the system's structure, and decide what services will be offered and how much they will cost, Suggs said.

After that, the final plan will go before voters for their approval, he said. It is possible that once the district is set up, voters will reject any proposed levies, Suggs said. "But we're hoping that by the time everything is worked out it will not be so expensive that the people are not willing to support it." One unresolved problem is the question of how North Albany, which lies In Benton County, will fit Into the system, If at all. One possible solution, Suggs said, Is to form the district without North Albany, and set up a reciprocal program with Cor-vallis libraries that would allow the area's residents to use the district's libraries. About 41 percent of all Oregonians who don't have library service live in Linn County, Suggs said.

And only seven Oregon counties, including Linn, lack some kind of library system, he added. By CASSANDRA BURRELL Democrat Herald Writer The Albany, Lebanon, and Sweet Home city councils have given a county task force their endorsement of the concept of a countywide library system, said Wayne Suggs, Albany library director. If a library task force gets similar endorsements from other Linn County cities, it can continue with its plans to put a proposed Linn County Library Service District, supported by taxes, before the voters by November. Under such a system, cities that currently run municipal libraries would turn over their administration to the proposed district. Residents would be issued a "universal library card," which would allow them to check books out of any district library.

This would make library service available to those who don't live in cities that run libraries. About 41,000 Linn County residents currently have to pay non-resident fees to check out books, Suggs said. A mid-valley resident living outside Albany, for example, must pay $20 a year for a library card. Merging ail of the libraries located within the county "will not be a simple task at all' Suggs told the Albany City Council last week. The task force has not estimated how much the system will cost since that depends on how many cities choose to participate and what kinds of services the district will offer.

But a recently enacted state law allows such a district to levy a maximum of one-quarter of 1 percent of the county's assessed valuation for its support. That would bring In almost $5 million, he said, "which would be miles beyond what would be needed." The task force plans to start a petition drive in mid-April to collect 6,500 signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot. But that depends on how quickly the group can collect endorsements from the Brownsville, Harrisburg and Scio city councils, Suggs said. The endorsements do not commit the cities to support a final plan for the district when it is drawn up. But their initial approvals will give the group enough tentative support to begin cir State agency warns people of job scam The Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Services Division has issued a warning against a scam that affects two groups of persons.

Michael Ryan, consumer information specialist for the department in Salem, said it affects young persons looking for jobs and householders who buy items from door-to-door salesmen. He said the scam starts with an advertisement for persons over 19 for high commission sales positions. Ryan said the ad could be a front for long hours, high pressure sales, difficult sales quotas and false or misleading sales tactics. The scam ends with a pitch at the consumer's door that includes such statements as, "You can give me the final three points I need for a trip to Disneyland." Ryan said that before young people make a commitment for employment, they should find out all they can about the firm, its practices, territory, hours, compensation, reputation and content of sales presentation material. Any false material may indicate a disreputable company.

Consumers approached for magazine or other sales with such a questionable sales pitch should be prepared to say "no" and then call their police or sheriffs department to determine if they have received any complaints. By BRUCE WESTFALL Democrat-Herald Writer LEBANON The Lebanon Police Department could lose five patrol officers starting next month under a new budget-cutting plan city officials are considering. Currently there are 14 uniformed officers who perform patrol duty for the department. The Lebanon Police Association met Wednesday with City Administrator Jim Thompson and Police Chief Del Johnson in further talks about the Police Department's role in a new series of budget cuts. The 18-member association is the contract bargaining unit for police.

The city has to save roughly $90,000 by July 1 in order to avoid a budget deficit at the end of the fiscal year. The Police Department is being asked to absorb roughly $42,000 of that total. Originally Thompson said two officers and one dispatcher would be laid off early this month with the remainder of the department to work four-days a week. But a Teamster represen-tive said this morning that city officials appear to be leaning away from a four-day week for officers and dispatchers and instead in dicated they are considering additional layoffs in the department. The Lebanon Police Association Is affiliated with the Teamsters Union for contract talks.

Clyde Curphey, a union business representative, said after Wednesday's meeting that it is likely the city will lay off five officers. Curphey said plans for a four-day week met with too many scheduling and overtime problems. He added that some association members were upset with the shortened week because it would mean a 20 percent cut in pay. "I don't know if the people who are left can take that' he said. Both Curphey and Police Chief Johnson emphasized that no firm decision has been made.

Thompson is out of town today and unavailable for comment. Johnson said the city may not lay off one dispatcher as earlier planned because its contract with the association may prevent patrol officers from doing dispatch duty. Thompson and the City Council agreed last week to a money-saving plan that includes closing city hall on Fridays for the next three months along with layoffs and four-day weeks for various departments. State might give Albany 75 acres along river The state might be willing to give Albany about 75 acres of unused land that lies in a two mile strip along the north bank of the Willamette River and east and west of Highway 20, said Albany Parks and Recreation Director Dave Gark. The Parks department has have been unwilling to turn it over to the city, Clark said.

But now, new personnel have said that they are more interested, he said. If the deal goes through, it should end up costing Albany "practically nothing," said City Manager Bill Barrons. The city also will ask Linn-Benton Community College to build and maintain nature or hiking trails there, he added. The land to the west of Highway 20 is owned by the Department of Transpora-tion, and land to the east is owned by the state Parks and Recreation Division. In the past years, state officials no money to do extensive development of the land, Clark told the Albany City Council at a work session this week.

But It could be made available to scout troops or to 4 groups for use as a wilderness area, he said. The city could ask their help to lease Albany a small parcel of vacant land it owns at the corner of Belmont Avenue and Looney Lane near the college. Residents in the surrounding neighborhood need a playground and picnic area for their children, Clark said. The department is also looking at other ways to supply the area with needed recreation space, he said. Police chief suggests marking valuables He said that the police department will loan elcr.tric marking pens to to inscribe the homeowner's Oregon driver's license number on valuables.

If the item cannot be inscribed with a pen. waterproof ink can be used, he added. Stickers are also provided, warning Sotential thieves that property in the ouse is identifiable. These are usually put near building entrances. Valuables in a home can quickly and easily be marked for identification to discourage theft and provide a system for their return if stolen, according to Darrell Pepper, Albany police chief.

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Springy as Spring itself. Machine wash dry, values to $3.99 yd. Yd. District pays mail-ballot election bill With little fanfare and four months late Albany Schools Superintendent Robert Williams has paid the district's outstanding mail-ballot election bill of (13,051 to both Linn and Benton counties. Of that amount, $9,120 went to Linn County and $3,931 to Benton County.

The district had refused to pay bills by the two counties for handling the Nov. 3 elections, where voters in a record turnout of about 77 percent rejected a tax levy to pay for two elementary school gymnasiums. Williams had objected to the bill on the grounds that it was more than twice as high as the $5,833 paid by the district for a conventional election in September 1980. Williams appealed the bill to both county clerks and to Secretary of State Norma Paulus, but to no avail. Linn County Clerk Del Riley submitted information showing that the 1980 election would have cost $8,400 if it had received a voter turnout similar to the November election.

He said the turnout In the 1980 election was about 18 percent, compared with the 77 percent mail-ballot turnout. Riley said this accounts for the cost difference. It was the first use of balloting by mail in Oregon history. Mrs. "Paulus defended the mail-ballot costs.

In a letter to Williams, she said her calculations showed that in Linn County, a voter turnout of 3,227 in the September 1980 election cost $1.59 per vote. On Nov. 3. with 14,373 Linn County voters, the cost-per-vote was 63 cents. Riley said last week he believes mail ballots are here to stay.

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