In a move that apparently could save a major chunk of money, the Philomath City Council decided to not put the psilocybin ban issue on the November special district election ballot and instead postpone the vote until the May 2026 election.
Philomath also planned to put several island annexations on the November ballot.
“We were informed last week by Benton County that we are the only thing that will be on the ballot, which means we’ll spend about $50,000 to hold the election,” Philomath City Manager Chris Workman told councilors at a Tuesday evening special meeting at City Hall. “Alternatively, we can punt six months and put those on the general election (ballot) in May of 2026. The county already has items scheduled for that and so we wouldn’t be paying anything there.”
In other words, Benton County foots the bill on elections when they have issues on the ballot. If not, other government entities need to cover the cost.
The delay means the city’s current psilocybin ban will remain in place for an additional six months without voter input. The council originally approved the ballot resolution at its July 14 meeting.
Based on Workman’s comments, the timing of the island annexations do not seem to have any sort of urgency attached to them. The council did not vote on a resolution related to that issue at last week’s meeting.
“In either case, I don’t think the repercussions are huge,” Workman said. “(In) my professional opinion, I don’t think it’s worth $50,000 of taxpayer money to get to a decision six months earlier but it’s not my decision, it’s your decision.”
Moments later, Jessica Andrade motioned to delay the vote with Richard Saalsaa seconding. Little discussion followed and the measure passed 6-0 with Diane Crocker absent.
