By Randy Sanne
Same rhetoric, same results. During the citizen comments at the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday Mary Geddry ask the Commissioners, more specifically Cam Parry, what they meant when they said our county government needs to operate more like a business. She referenced Bob Mains statement that the county is a $100 million dollar a year business with more than 400 employees. After some rambling comments by Mr. Main that really didn’t address the question Mary asked the question again, and outlined the clear differences between private business and our county government. She reminded them that businesses provide goods and services for a profit and our county government provides services to its citizens paid for by their tax dollars, and that if the BOC ran like a private business their main customers would be the citizens that have already paid for these services. This time Cam Parry attempted to explain what he meant, he said that he didn’t mean he wanted to use any particular business “model” but that like a business the BOC needed to establish minimum levels of service that can be supported year after year without having to “cut and slash” with every new budget. He wouldn’t say how he thinks the county differs from private business in that regard, he just said he believes we do, and he said that was one of his reasons for creating the new advisory boards. During this time Mr. Messerle stayed silent.
While I agree that the citizens of this county deserve to be assured of minimum levels of core service (those that are important to the citizens, not the commissioners or other county staff) and have stated so to the BOC, these levels should be based on, and have a priority too, yearly tax revenues. Historical data could be used to establish what those minimum tax revenues would be. I don’t believe that other large employers do any better job of establishing guaranteed minimum staffing levels, nor do they avoid “slashing and burning”. Roseburg Forest products recently laid off more than 200 people at three of their plants, these layoffs were due to current market conditions which obviously effected revenues, they were immediate and long term, and when those laid off workers were hired they were not told that their jobs would be temporary. The county establishes their staffing and service levels yearly not daily based on markets. I was involved in two large layoffs while employed with Weyerhaeuser Paper Mills in Springfield and North Bend, both were immediate, the Springfield layoff involved shuttering a paper machine and laying off more than 120 people and the North Bend layoff involved shutting down the entire mill and laying off all of its approximately 240 employees. Again, I believe the county does a better job of forecasting than these large employers!
Mary also asked another question that she and others of us have asked before. If the commissioners truly want more citizen involvement why don’t they schedule meetings at times and in locations that give more citizens the opportunity to attend, something that Mr. Parry said at the time of his appointment to the board was a priority for him, she also asked that the new committees meetings be scheduled at times and in locations that would allow more citizen attendance, and again she was assured that these committees would be available to the public. Shortly there-after Mr. Main announced that the new Road department advisory committee’s first meeting will be held on August 17th at “2:00pm” in the “SMALL” conference room of the Owen building. This room holds fewer people than the commissioner’s courtroom. Other new advisory committee meetings are: Forest Advisory at 3:00pm in the Parks/Forestry conference room.
Structure advisory at 2:00pm in the Owen Building
I believe this shows a total disregard for the interests of the citizens of Coos County and is just the latest in attempts by the BOC to exclude us from the process. Knowledge is the enemy of politicians. I recommend that all concerned citizens call or e-mail our commissioners and demand public meetings at times that are more accommodating to the majority of citizens.
Bob Main – (541)396-3121 x770 bmain@co.coos.or.us
Fred Messerle – (541)396-3121 x247 fmesserle@co.coos.or.us
Cam Parry – (541)396-3121 x281 cparry@co.coos.or.us
Remind them that next May we will all have the chance to ELECT commissioners that WILL act in the best interests of the citizens.
Randy Sanne
Governance Advisory Committee (Liaison Cam Parry) members: Lance Benton, Dana Mills, Terri Turi, Bill Grile, and Phyllis Wilson.
Lets break it down, this is who they are
Cam Parry: we’re learning who he is and what he’s about.
Lance Benton: just tried for Parry’s job, career military man, used to structure and obeying the rules, but will he stand up against corruption, or close his eyes, and hold his nose.
Dana Mills: ??
Bill Grile : l thought he moved on since he pissed off so many people before as mayor of CB, guess he couldnt get one of those jobs he was applying for out of the area. http://theworldlink.com/news/local/article_fdac6cec-4bd55fb5913e1bcff8cacec7.htm
Terri Turri: not going anywhere, but at the center core of power, with her clerk position. doubling down perhaps.
Phyllis Wilson: ??
If they’re going to step up to stting on a committee that tells us how we are to be governed, then we should get a look at who they are and their connections to the power brokers. This might be a fun project, lots of committees to look at. Layers, and layers of protection for the instigators of this fraud on Coos County.
Randy, thanks for posting that info.
The names on that are some of the same names that wrote letters of recommendation for Jon Barton and Bennetti, when they wiggled their way on the Air Port Board. Check the archives on that at the lee.net shill (worldlink).
This is how Jon and friends pay back their favors. We’ll set them on a committee, they get a taste of power, and the machine keeps grinding out the resources of this county. money,money,money. It works real well, unless we get in their way.
A protest would have the power to change this, but not by just ten or twenty people, who get riled enough about one specific issue. Corruption of this system of government, that was thrust upon us as children in grade school, is the common thread in all the different issues plaguing this county, state, and country.
These grownup kids that have the car keys, will never give up their positions of power, they just want more. They own the system, and will protect it till they drop, like our two expired commissioners did.
Fighting them at this local level, does not cut off the flow of money that they use to keep their positions. The Governor is the one that’s needs replacing first. As long as he and the broken system keep pouring tax dollars to this gang, they won’t be stopped by just a few upset tax payers.
Kitzhaber needs the pressure on him for all this mess. All the different groups with all their different points of focus, will need to stand together all at once.
Been to those rally’s where ten or twenty people show up, hold their sign for awhile, and go home. Most people driving by don’t even know what your talking about, and when its explained to them by the system (local press and shills), that THOSE people want to take your job away, they look at you like a pan handler at wal-mart. Thats why people wont attend, or they’re so busy trying to survive, to pay attention to whats making it so hard to survive…When they’re all out of work they’ll have the time.
As negative as this appears. I remind myself of what was said by people like JFK, What can I do for my country. As a youth, served in the military, As a parent watched my son go to Afghanistan, and will most likely see him go back soon.
As a grandparent, my job is to try and make sure my kids and grand kids don’t have to have this fight were having. So bring it on.
Personally, I think it is a mistake to play the game at all. Instead we should organize a protest and demand the proper procedure rather than acquiescing and trying to play from within. Never play games where you don’t get to agree on the rules.
The outcome is predetermined, don’t be pawns in the game by playing along. We the people can demand our own rules. We DO NOT have to accept these committees or their findings and we have to let the triplets know how we feel.
There are people among them that are opposed to this as well, but they are caught up in the process to stay involved. There are probably SCDC members caught in a bad position as well. Stay with this organized crime family and hope for its survival, or be the first to jump ship and hope that’s the right move. They would be better off in the long run to put some distance between their business and the corrupt SCDC and its affiliates. That will be a scary prospect for them no matter what they decide to do.
When the investigations begin it would be wise to distance yourself from SCDC and its leaders.
I have a copy of a one page letter from the Board of Commissioners titled “It pays to know” for July, 2011. It lists the Governance and Structure Advisory Committees, their liaisons, committee members and descriptions of their supposed purposes.
Governance Advisory Committee (Liaison Cam Parry) members: Lance Benton, Dana Mills, Terri Turi, Bill Grile, and Phyllis Wilson.
This advisory committee composed of county citizens (including county employees) will evaluate options and alternatives for our county government structure, policy development, and possible charter amendments.
Structure Advisory Committee ( Liaison Fred Messerle) members: Craig Zanni, Daniela Kellum, Alan Pettit, Jon Barton, Timm Slater, Laird Bryan, JJ Mcleod, and Bill Marino.
This advisory committee composed of county citizens (including county employees) will evaluate options and alternatives regarding departmental process and function including administrative structure for the entire organization.
These descriptions seem to define the differences between the two committees, and I agree with Mary’s assertion that the commissioners will blame any fallout on the committees. We must remember who (Fred Messerle) is responsible for the creation of these committees and ensure that the elected county employees serving on them are not adversely effected. I also agree that we are fortunate that any changes in county governance must be put to a vote of the citizens, but given these commissioners determination to exclude the public from the process I’m not sure they believe they will have to, and for that reason I want to constantly remind them.
They are TRYING to move fast on several things, including burying the transfer of management of the CBWR to the Coquille Tribe in a Congressional bill by fall.
Rather than holding “real” public hearings at a time that gives everyone a voice, these committees will come up with a restricted list of recommendations and only then will the discussion begin to include the public and then an “agenda” will limit the discussion to the committee recommendations. The commissioners will try to blame the choices on the committees but we know who is really responsible.
The upside of this is that anything will require a vote of the people but I still believe the people should protest these advisory committees.
They sure are moving fast. There will be no need for the next election. The Structuring will be set in place, with this new layered form of public thievery, before the next election cycle. As transparent as this scheme is, it’s “so what, shut up”, offensiveness does not appear to be having enough negative impact on their reputations, yet. Wait till a few of their friends get cut out of a deal in favor of a bigger friend. Then loyalty’s will be tested.
They will try and set this up where it cant be undone. The next Commissioners will tell us nothing can reverse the system. Get used to it.
The commission wants to explore restructuring how the county conducts business. Should we move to a home rule system? Should we have more commissioners? Should we hire a paid executive to run the county, similar to a city manager or Jeff Bishop at the Port?
There are two committees formed with blurry differences, one called governance and one called structure. One, as I understand it, is supposed to advise the departments on how better to do their jobs. The other is to come up with concepts for a new charter or home rule. The missions blur over and so I am not 100% which is which on any given day.
What is this [ Structure advisory ] ?
I get what the other committees will be carving up, road committee (materials and labor contracts for all road projects).
Forest, all the timber sales and who gets them.
Structure? could this be about government responsibility to and for the county? Educate me