GRESHAM SAFETY LEVY DELIVERS ON PROMISES TWO YEARS IN
New police and fire personnel, expanded facilities and restored services mark progress, though improvements in emergency response times remain unverified.
By Lee Delay
The Advocate
Gresham voters approved a levy to help fund fire and police services in May 2024. Now, two years after that took effect, The Advocate is checking in on what that money has bought and what effects can be seen. For Mt. Hood Community College, those changes include expanded staffing at Fire Station 72, the station that covers the main campus, including a new paramedic rescue to help in emergencies, more fire and police personnel to respond to calls and expanded public education efforts overall.
Specifically, Gresham has hired nine new sworn police officers, 13 new firefighters, and a host of support personnel including community safety specialists, fire marshals and more. They have also reopened the Rockwood Public Safety Facility (locally referred to as the Rockwood Police Department), re-instituted the school safety inspection program and fully staffed Fire Station 72 including both a 24/7 fire truck team and a rapid medical response engine.
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NEW EMERGENCY PERSONNEL
9 police officers and 13 firefighters hired through the Gresham Public Safety Levy.
24/7
FIRE COVERAGE
Fire Station 72 now operates with expanded around-the-clock staffing.
With 56% of Gresham voters supporting it, Measure 26-247, also known as the Public Safety Levy, provides a five-year operating fund for additional police and fire systems throughout Gresham. This created an additional property tax that costs the average homeowner in Gresham just over $300 per year but represents the first increase in staffing for the Gresham Fire Department since 1994. It is also specifically budgeted money that cannot be used for anything except specifically what the taxpayers agreed to during that time. While the current levy expires after five years, voters will have the option of continuing it before it expires.
“It represents the first increase in staffing for the Gresham Fire Department since 1994.”
The levy has stayed within the approximately $13 million a year budget required by the state, which means the expanded staffing does not dip into the general fund to cover any of the additional expenses. It is overseen by a seven-person subcommittee, all of whom are Gresham residents. Their role is to serve as a measure of accountability to ensure the fund is both being used appropriately and staying within the legal budget.
Furthermore, the levy has enabled most of the staffing recommendations called for in a 2023 report addressing a critical need for improvements to emergency services’ response to have now been met. The expectation is that times for both police and fire response will improve moving forward.
The expansion of Station 72, located just three minutes south of the main MHCC campus, down Kane Road, is particularly noteworthy, as that same 2023 report found that it was the station with the highest demand. The station has been updated, is now staffed 24/7 and the new rescue team is expected to relieve that burden and increase response times.
Farther afield from the MHCC main campus, the newly reopened Rockwood police station offers a way for the public to walk in and report crimes, access a dedicated property unit and consult with a specialized mental health team on staff. The community expressed broad need for those services to return, the levy made that possible in March 2026 That station had been closed since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the additional funding allowed the department to hire the staff required to restore them.
Troutdale residents should also be aware that this November there will be a measure on the ballot to decide if their residents will join the levy as well. Measure 26-265 reads similarly to the one passed in Gresham, but if it passes it will replace the Public Safety Utility Fee and result in approximately $128 more per year in property taxes for homeowners. This increase would lead to another $3.5 million dollars a year for the existing levy, which covers the city of Troutdale already via the Gresham Fire Department.
While updated data on response times is not yet available, the staffing increase is specifically targeted at improving response times and enhancing community safety. Tangible results, like fire safety inspections in Gresham schools, an increase in public safety events and the deployment of new fire units, show a genuine effort to fulfill the promises made to Gresham voters when they passed the levy.
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