The commissioners are holding a hearing Tuesday, 2:30 PM at the Owen Bldg to discuss fees at the planning department. There is no agenda available but the board of commissioners chairman, Fred Messerle, has made it no secret he thinks the cost of planning should be spread across all county taxpayers and paid out of the general fund. In effect, Messerle wants to socialize the cost of speculative real estate development, or “doing something” as he calls it yet ironically, he had the opposite position when it came to the solid waste department if it dipped into the general fund.
The planning department was taken out of the general fund budget years ago and setup to sustain itself based upon the fees it generates providing services to applicants but when Messerle unilaterally instituted a fee reduction in July of 2011 the department had to bill the county and was reimbursed $20,760 from the general fund.
Messerle’s own company benefited from the fee break and several citizens have filed complaints with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission alleging Messerle took advantage of his position for personal gain and the benefit of his friends and campaign contributors.
Four months after Messerle instructed the planning department to reduce the fees, then planning director, Patty Evernden, operating on advice from the county treasurer, Mary Barton, raised the fees back from $60 per hour to $75 hour to comply with the board approved budget her department was mandated to operate within. Messerle only found out when the department billed for the shortfall caused by the reduction and has stated he wants to reimburse applicants paying the $75 rate. Is it conceivable this hearing is meant to enact a costly retroactive fee reduction? Or is this more like having too many margaritas and getting stopped for a DUI then enacting an ex post facto law to say intoxication by tequila is exempted from prosecution?
Fred would call this closing the pasture gate after the cows got out
Good point! Someone else was just reminding me that parks is a self supporting department as well.
So is Fred going to lower fees at the county parks too?
Do you think Fred thought no one would notice that his family business just happens to do a lot of business at the planning dept. where he has to spend to earn, or do you think he just doesn’t care about public perceptions of impropriety?
This group that includes his wife and best friends should start wiping the smiles off their faces when state officials knock on their doors, unless they’ve already been bought by SCDC. I Almost forgot that some dues paying members to SCDC are government entities.
Mr. Messerle enables business people who may be considering a move to Coos County and who read web sites like this to laugh and to run far away. God willing, Fred will be gone in January.
When is Andy going to tell Barney the gig is up?
It is, you know.
The Messerlie,Knutson,Sause Cabal is rearing it’s ugly head.
Shoulda kept yer head down, as you’ve done for four decades now. People finally took the time to research who,what,when,and why this county continues to languish.
Those at the top of THIS food chain aren’t languishing at all. Far from it.