Bandon officials say the day is approaching when the police department won’t have enough officers to provide 24-hour protection. They are hoping taxpayers will dig deeper into their pockets to help pay for police officer salaries.

Voters in the city by the sea have until Tuesday to decide whether to support a levy that would increase their property taxes by 56 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

If recent voting history in Coos County is any indication, Bandon is facing formidable odds.

In 2007, Coos County voters shot down a tax that would have prevented mass layoffs in the sheriff’s office. The following year, a smaller levy got even less support after an extension of timber payments came through.

In 2002, Coos Bay residents sent the same message, voting down an option tax levy to fund police services by a 2 to 1 margin.

But City Manager Matt Winkel said there are several factors in Bandon’s favor. The city has a relatively low property tax rate thanks in part to revenue it generates from operating utilities, but those funds can’t be used to pay for police, Winkel said.

“Our utilities may be healthy, but it’s our general fund that we are having problems with,” he said.

City employees have demonstrated their loyalty, agreeing to take a wage freeze.

But the question ultimately will come down to what police services Bandon residents want. Winkel said the city currently provides 24-hour service with six officers, but next year isn’t looking so good. 

The city hasn’t started working on its budget yet, but Winkel said the police may face staffing cuts.

The five-year levy would pay for two police officer positions and the city council has said its highest priority would be to fund four additional officers, Winkel said.

“The question is, do people feel strongly enough about guaranteeing that 24-hour protection?” he said.

Bandon currently has 1.82 officers per 1,000 residents, the second highest ratio in Coos County. But should police levels drop to five, the average would fall to 1.51, ahead of only Powers and Coos Bay.

Coos Bay had a 1.88 ratio in 2000 but when voters put down the funding measure, the department cut five officers and the ratio went to 1.42.

The cuts have made a difference, said Rodger Craddock, Coos Bay’s police chief and interim city manager. The city no longer has officers throughout the Coos Bay School District and sometimes won’t respond to thefts in grocery stores or businesses.

“We’re not able to engage in proactive patrol like we once did before,” he said.

The Coos County Sheriff’s Office faced even more serious cuts in 2007, when the number of patrol deputies dropped from 18 to nine. The drop means instead of a .69 deputy to 1,000 residents ratio, the Sheriff’s Office only has .34.

Deputies still respond for person crimes, but victims of theft and burglary often find only a crime report form in the mail instead of a man in uniform at their doorstep.

And while Coos Bay has been able to maintain 24-hour service, the sheriff’s office can no longer do so.

Sgt. Dave Hermann said the more reflective statistic is comparing the number of deputies to service calls. Department records show there are 62.5 calls per deputy a month and 750 calls per deputy a year.

Officials with the county and Coos Bay agree they could use more bodies, but they don’t plan to rush to the ballot if Bandon is successful.

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier, who was involved in the 2008 effort to raise a countywide levy, said there hasn’t been talk of another attempt.

Nor has there been any in Coos Bay.

“These are tough economic times to go out for additional levies,” Craddock said.

Bandon officials decided it was worth a try, in part because of their location. While North Bend and Coos Bay, and Coquille and Myrtle Point, can send in officers to assist one another if police in one town are overwhelmed, Bandon has no such luxury.

“We are kind of isolated down here. If we need help, they are far away,” Winkel said.