Clackamas County voters are set to decide on May 19 whether Measure 3‑633, a five-year public-safety levy, gets the green light. The proposal would set a property tax rate of $0.534 per $1,000 of assessed value and, if approved, would run through the 2027-2032 fiscal period. County leaders say the measure is aimed at avoiding cuts to deputies, detectives and jail capacity, and the question is already locked in on the May primary ballot.
Measure 3‑633 is officially on the May 19, 2026 primary ballot, according to Clackamas County Elections, which also notes that ballots will be mailed to voters beginning April 29 and must be returned or dropped off by 8 p.m. on Election Day. The county's elections page includes a sample ballot and the voters' pamphlet for residents who want to read the full text of the measure, arguments and other local races.
What Measure 3‑633 Would Pay For
The levy is pitched as a replacement for the existing public-safety levy and is framed as a way to preserve current sheriff's office services rather than launch unrelated programs. County briefing materials describe a package focused on staffing, jail capacity and existing programs, shaped using recent polling and financial projections. Clackamas County Board of Commissioners documents outline which services the levy is intended to protect and the reasoning staff used when drafting the ballot language.
In a news release the sheriff’s office posted on X, officials detailed what they say the levy would keep in place and fund: continued support for the sheriff’s specialized drug enforcement team, the body-worn camera program and jail capacity, including about 84 jail beds plus roughly 26 mental-health and medical beds. The release also states that the levy would pay to retain sworn personnel, including dozens of jail and patrol deputies, detectives and internal-affairs investigators that the sheriff's office says would otherwise be at risk. Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
Cost To Homeowners And Revenue Outlook
In its announcement, the sheriff’s office offered a sample tax bill and multi-year revenue projections. For a home assessed at $358,313, the levy would cost about $15.95 per month, or roughly $191.34 per year, at the proposed rate. The same materials project annual collections in the high-$30- to low-$40-million range over the five-year period, from roughly $37.7 million up to about $43.6 million in later years, for an estimated total of about $202.9 million if the levy runs its full term. Sheriff’s office materials provided those figures to the public.
Local Debate And Budget Context
The levy heads to voters after months of county-level discussions about how to fund sheriff operations and how replacement levy dollars should be used. Commissioners weighed several rate and service options before agreeing to send a replacement measure to the spring ballot. Local coverage has tracked those debates and the tradeoffs on the table, including whether to bolster a specialized crime-reduction team or focus primarily on maintaining current service levels. Reporting from the Milwaukie Review and background on earlier budget disputes from OPB lay out how those conversations have evolved.
What Happens Next
With Measure 3‑633 on the May 19 ballot, county elections officials will publish the official voters' pamphlet and sample ballot ahead of the April 29 mailing date. Voters who need information on precincts, ballot drop sites or the official explanatory statements can turn to Clackamas County Elections or the county voters' pamphlet for the complete measure text and fiscal estimates.
