City Manager Sabrina Cotta: Looking ahead, 2026 will be a year of important progress and community engagement. We are embarking on a citywide strategic planning process to help establish a shared direction, set priorities and align our efforts over the next several bienniums.
If snowfall gets heavy, it may take time for the city to plow your street; be prepared to keep your walkways safe and possibly stay in for a few days.
Councilor Bob Kaplan: While the cost of delivering kilowatt-hours to our homes has risen, Ashland Electric has been able to hold our rates steady with just one increase of 5.1% in 2021. I’m sorry to say we’re due for an increase, but fortunately it’s not likely to match recent increases elsewhere.
The city of Ashland is making it easier than ever for property owners to add an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, to their residentially zoned property. The city now offers seven free, pre-approved ADU designs that meet all local building code requirements. — Brandon Goldman, Community Development director
On Oct. 11, the city of Ashland conducted a full-scale Community Wildfire Evacuation Drill, engaging more than 300 residents, local agencies and partner organizations in a coordinated evacuation exercise.
The funds collected through the food and beverage tax support essential city projects, such as street repairs, land acquisition and capital improvements.
Ashland Emergency Management Coordinator Kelly Burns: What we learned from the Almeda Fire is that we need each other; no one gets through this alone. Ashland is better prepared today because we faced one of our worst times together. We’re not done learning or preparing, but every step towards preparing together, at any level, makes us more resilient.
Mayor Tonya Graham: We have seven unions as well as a group of city employees who are not represented by unions. That group is called the “management pool.” It includes general clerical workers, parks employees, supervisors, department heads, our city manager, and our city attorney, among others.
Although recent changes to FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant may have raised concerns, the project is fully funded through a long-term, low-cost federal loan. Additional grants are still being pursued.
To help maintain services in the face of rising costs, the city of Ashland relies on fees to pay for specific programs. These fees show up on your monthly utility bill. The City Council has voted to increase specific fees this year, recognizing that the programs the fees support have gotten more expensive over the years.
Oregon state Sen. Jeff Golden announced in a news release Friday, Feb. 13, he plans to retire at the end of his current term and will withdraw his filing for reelection.
A joint Ashland City Council and Parks & Recreation Commission meeting Wednesday took a look at governance confusion, project missteps, and looming budget concerns as the city pauses its search for a new parks director.
Herbert Rothschild: I hope Congress renames Dulles International Airport for Trump. Then, after Trump has receded into infamy, Congress can rename the airport for someone far more deserving than either he or the Dulles brothers.
For the first time since the pandemic, four of Oregon’s most dedicated community choirs will come together Sunday in Ashland to sing their hearts out for peace.
A Democrat, Isabella Lee Tibbetts, is challenging incumbent Colleen Roberts for her seat on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. Upcoming deadlines for the primary election include a Feb. 27 deadline for any county/city/district ballot titles; a March 3 deadline for any incumbents to declare their bids for reelection; a March 10 deadline for all “other than elected incumbent” candidates to file; and a March 19 deadline for county/city/district measures to be filed.
During a wide-ranging campus conversation on Friday, Feb. 6, Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey said he planned to have discussions with the Governor’s Office, including about the possibility of asking for a one-time, estimated $15 million payment from the state of Oregon to SOU to help “bridge” the campus financially to the summer of 2027.
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