ALBANY — More than 300 volunteers gathered over 11,000 signatures on a petition to form a Linn County taxing district to support the OSU Extension Service.

If enough of the signatures are valid, the county board of commissioners will hold a hearing to review the district’s boundaries and then place the proposal on the ballot for the general election in November.

Organizers say they will deliver the petitions to the Linn County clerk today. The group needed to collect 10,324 signatures before the deadline today.

With federal timber receipts in decline, a campaign was initiated in January to get the taxing district on the November ballot.

The petition asked: “Shall district be formed with a permanent tax rate limit of $0.07 per $1,000 assessed property value beginning January 2009?”

The district would not be required to collect the full rate.

After a slow start in late January, those involved say the signature drive picked up only during the past month.

Before putting the question to voters in a petition, supporters visited the city councils of all 13 incorporated cities in Linn County. Each passed a resolution approving the petition and allowing for a November vote.

“Next we are going to initiate a campaign,” said one of the volunteers, Dan Thackaberry, the Linn County 4-H and Extension Service District PAC president said. “We are now going to take a deep breath and go on.”

Extension programs include 4-H youth clubs, Master Gardener and Master Woodland Manager; grass seed certification; and agriculture, forestry, and livestock research and education.

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