By Jaye Bell
It seems Commissioner Cribbins, in her 10-27-14 The World newspaper op-ed, has misunderstood many issues regarding the November ballot measure 6-149 “Voice of the Voters” Charter.
Ms Cribbins vehemently has rejected any input or checks and balances by the citizens over her decisions for controlling Coos County. But still, she is also a lawyer and therefore should be able to read a document written in this straight forward a manner.
Looking at one major item Ms. Cribbins states “….timber sales contracts are nearly always more than the arbitrary limits set by the Charter. Timber sales contracts bring money into the county budget. These sales contracts will be lost if they have to wait months for voter approval, or they will come in at pennies on the dollar, as buyers are forced to subtract the cost of the uncertainty of the contract from their bids.”
Now what does the Charter actually say regarding timber sales … Section 14.2 (f) reads as follows: “Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter, a public vote is not required to allow the harvesting or disposition of crops, timber, or other products growing upon county land. ”
Additionally the Charter does not control items in the budget but does require it be zero based ie be based on actual expected expenses needed plus contingency funds and not just given a percentage increase from the previous year.
The other issues noted in the op-ed were convoluted in a similar manner. Is misleading the voters by misrepresenting a ballot measure a violation of law?
