Archive: Government

League of Women Voters^®
of Marion and Polk Counties

Reports on issues regarding government previously published in the Focus newsletter

Capital Improvements Program. Should Marion County have Five Commissioners?. Homeland Security.

Capital Improvements Program (November 2008)

Notes by Sally Hollemon
Three people explained the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) in the Salem area at the November 2008 all-member meeting before a small attendance in Loucks Lecture Hall.
Sandra Montoya, City of Salem Treasury Manager, said the Capital Improvement Program is a 5-year planning document that includes items that will last more than five years, cost more than $50,000, and require lengthy development. Examples are infrastructure (buildings, utility lines, streets, parks) and acquisitions (land, play structures, fire truck, computer system).
Just as a family must plan and budget for major purchases, a city must plan for major repairs (such as roofs) and for expansion of infrastructure as the population increases (such as larger-diameter sewer pipes and more parkland).
The CIP planning document is developed from (1) Infrastructure Master Plans (on water, storm water, wastewater, parks, transportation, airport, fire, etc.), (2) Assessments of the condition of infrastructure and equipment, and (3) Community desires, including city council's goals/priorities, special needs (such as softball, environmental, etc.), Neighborhood Associations' goals, and citizen requests.
Each master plan goes through a lengthy evaluation process that includes public input as well as identification of funding sources. City officials prioritize projects according to their urgency and the availability of funding. Most grants from the state and federal governments are for specific types of projects and cannot be used for other types of projects. For example, funding for water projects cannot be used for street repairs.
There is always a backlog of CIP projects for which no funding is available, and the current recession will exacerbate that problem. Priorities may have to change. For example, roofs must be replaced before they deteriorate so much that water damage to the building and its contents occurs, requiring even more expensive repairs.
After public comment, the city council must approve each master plan and the Capital Improvement Program.
Ms. Montoya said that, since planning for projects is done years in advance, to have the most effect, citizens should get involved early in the process. As she put it: Come early, come often, speak loudly.
Cliff Serres, Assistant City Engineer with the City of Salem Public Works Department, supervises most of Salem's CIP projects. He handed out a sheet that listed the projects to be funded by the Streets and Bridge General Obligation Bonds approved by voters in November 2008. Projects fit into three general categories: · Congestion relief · Rebuilding pavements and bridges · Safety improvements Construction will occur over eight years beginning in summer 2009.
In addition to population growth and normal wear and tear, CIPs are needed when environmental, health, and safety regulations are updated by state and federal governments. Sometimes the new requirements come with money and sometimes not.
The City of Salem manages water utilities for Salem, Keizer and Turner. Transportation is handled through regional cooperation. CIPs must be approved by all the jurisdictions involved. Computers now keep CIP information current and facilitate coordination with all the entities involved.
Funding availability determines how many projects can be carried out. Sources of funds are bonds, systems development charges (SDCs), and grants from state or federal government. Each funding source has requirements attached. For example, the federal government will pay for a bus, but the driver must be paid with local funds.
Richard Schmid, Council of Governments (COG), said that the Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study (SKATS) is required to identify areas and type of congestion. SKATS uses traffic counts and travel-time studies. The cameras and detectors that tell traffic signals when there are vehicles waiting for the signal to turn green can also count those vehicles. The actual time it takes for a car to travel the major corridors in the Salem area at different times of day is measured using a global positioning system (GPS). Information collected is used to identify trends and help calibrate the computerized traffic lights in the area.
Transit: Transit ridership was up over 3% in June 2008 compared to the previous June. This increase occurred as gas prices were rising and despite a recent increase in fares and cuts in services in 2006. However, Saturday service will be cut in early 2009 due to defeat of the transit levy at the November 2008 election.
Eliminating Saturday bus service will allow the transit district to also cut out Saturday WHEELS service, which costs three times as much as buses to operate. Mr. Schmid commented that the federal government could help local transit by changing some of its rules.
However, the biggest obstacle facing the transit district is the lack of stable funding. Until the funding issue is resolved, the district will find it difficult to add transit services that will help promote and expand transit use in the Salem-Keizer area.
Bridge: The Highway 22 bridges over the Willamette River in Salem are at capacity during peak hours. To determine the most appropriate way to add river crossing capacity and reduce related congestion while minimizing adverse social and environmental impacts, a federally required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is under way.
The next major public comment opportunity will come in the fall of 2009 when the Draft EIS is released. The draft will be accompanied by open houses and a public hearing. One of the federal requirements is that, as part of the EIS process, a realistic and implementable funding mechanism be identified for funding the selected river-crossing alternative.
Survey: In spring of 2009 a Household Travel Behavior Survey will be done to gather data on trip purpose, length, destination, mode of travel, and whether the trip was combined with other trips. This information will be used to update transportation models for the area to anticipate future demand on the transportation network and identify where improvements will be needed.
However, since the gas tax has remained the same for many years while costs have increased, even with the additional state and local funds expected to be available in the next twenty years, the area's traffic system is forecast to have significantly more roadways operating at "nearing capacity" or "above capacity" during peak hours--in other words, more traffic congestion.
For more information see http://www.mwvcog.org/transportation/skats/rtsp.asp

Should Marion County have Five Commissioners?

Notes by Tina Hansen
On September 23, 2008, Friends of Marion County sponsored a forum on the question: Should the number of county commissioners be changed from 3 to 5? Since this question was adopted at Annual Meeting for an update this year, the following report is in lieu of a League-sponsored meeting on the topic.
The September 23rd panel was moderated by Ron Johnson, former chair of the Polk County Board of Commissioners. He began by giving the audience a historical overview and perspective on the general topic of how a county is governed. This topic has been discussed since the beginning of our country, said Johnson, and referred to Federalist Paper 55 in which James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, made three points regarding the size of government. Madison argued that if the government was too small, it would be an unsafe depository of the public interests. Madison's second major concern was how the government should communicate with the public. His final point was the relationship between government and the growing population.
In February of 1857, 60 delegates wrote the Oregon Constitution, and the issue of county governance was discussed extensively. It was decided that the smaller counties would have a single county judge (an administrative position), while larger counties would have two county commissioners who would work alongside their county judge.
In the state's earliest constitution, the county judge and the two commissioners were elected to two-year terms. Today in Marion County the three commissioners serve four-year terms.
Patty Milne, a current Marion County Commissioner, said that in her view, the question we need to be asking is: Can Marion County government, in its current form, give the county the innovative resources and ideas that are needed to prosper over the next 25 years? We must define the problem and then make direct connections to what the problem is and how to fix it.
Since 1964, Marion County voters have rejected proposals for increasing the Marion County Board of Commissioners. In 2001, the issue resurfaced, but after several public hearings, the Board of Commissioners felt there wasn't enough evidence to justify making a change. A probable reason for this is that many people do not understand what a county commissioner does.
Milne believes that as a governing body, the current 3-member Board of Commissioners has been successful at moving the county forward but that there is room for improvement. As for resources, she says, there is never enough money to satisfy every perceived need of every special-interest group.
Milne recognized that the world is changing daily; therefore, we must ask: How can we manage change and how can we anticipate change? She believes that the County has been able to embrace and anticipate change. The commissioners are very open to members of the community in a variety of areas, including public safety and the economy. Thanks to their involvement with the community, Marion County commissioners can plan ahead and anticipate change.
Milne cautioned the audience that the issue of changing the size of county government should not be a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived concern of a few people. While two additional county commissioners could make each commissioner's work load thinner, the total work load would increase.
Milne also cautioned about the impact two more commissioners could have on open meeting laws. With a board of five commissioners, one commissioner alone could have a private conversation with another commissioner to convince him/her to vote for an ordinance. If they were joined by a third commissioner in voting in favor of the ordinance, the other two commissioners would be left out of the loop.
Concerning nonpartisanship, the day-to-day activities of a Marion County commissioner is nonpartisan, but county commissioners generally consult with people who share their viewpoint. Also, the best way to get support for any office is to be affiliated with a political party.
Milne finished her comments by discussing the benefits and drawbacks of commissioners representing a district versus being at-large. If commissioners represented a district, people would know who works in their district, but there is the danger of making Salem the center of attention at the expense of the rest of the county. If the commissioners are elected at-large, they are more likely to focus on concerns of the entire county.
The next speaker was Chuck Bennett, Salem City Councilor for Ward 1. The Salem City Council is nonpartisan and is divided into eight wards. Each ward has as close as possible the same population as the other wards.
Bennett compared the duties of a city councilor to those of a county commissioner.
Salem City Council members are elected by district, thus allowing closer ties with the voters where they live. Being part of a district gives a city councilor more opportunity to develop special knowledge about neighborhoods within the district and makes it easier to have regular contact with voters about concerns in their local neighborhoods. Political candidates for a single district are generally more accessible than if they ran at-large.
On the negative side, the district approach could lead to a tendency for local interests to influence citywide issues. For example, when a helicopter school's aircraft circles your house, you might call your city councilor and voice your concerns, but this could lead to the City not granting the helicopter school a license.
Bennett feels that political parties have a role in local government, but most of the discussion about issues at the City Council is generally policy-based. Campaigns are based on the candidate and not on the party. On the other hand, without political parties there are still special interest groups that try to influence local government.
While the City Council does call some private meetings to discuss certain topics, such as personnel matters, the decisions are accessible to the public.
The final speaker was Clackamas County Commissioner Verne Duncan, who explained how Clackamas County made the transition from three to five commissioners. A task force was formed in Clackamas County to discuss a variety of issues relating to this question. Among them, were:
Employment: Should the county commissioner work part time, full time, or a combination?
Election of the Chair: Should the chair be elected by the public, elected by the board of commissioners, or rotated?
Method of Election: Should the county commissioners be elected by district, at large, or in a combination?
Party Affiliation: Should the board be partisan or nonpartisan?
Qualifications: Should the ordinance set forth qualifications for county commissioners on such things as county residency, term limits, and so on?
After a number of hearings, it was recommended that all members of the commission should be elected county- wide and the board should be nonpartisan. The voters would elect the chair of the county commission directly. The term would be four years with no term limits. The chair would not serve as county administrator, but would simply speak on behalf of the board of commissioners.
The recommendations were sent to the voters who passed them by 70 percent.
Q&A
The panel presentations were followed by a question and answer segment moderated by Ron Johnson. Here are some of the highlights of that discussion.
How much decision-making should be done in the public's eye? Commissioner Patty Milne explained that, while commissioners may discuss details with their staffs in private, work sessions and the meetings of the Board of Commissioners are public.
How did Clackamas County change the number of county commissioners without a constitutional amendment? They used a provision in Senate Bill 77 to allow for the change.
What about changing the mix of elected officials that the voters choose every four years? Chuck Bennet commented that in Salem, voters elect policy makers but not heads of administrative departments.
What about urban versus rural areas? In rural areas, there is more community policing and generally more emphasis on being self-supportive within the smaller communities.
Large versus small commission: Given the larger size of the Salem City Council, a wide variety of views can be discussed.
How is Clackamas County comparable to Marion County in terms of demographics, policy, and so on? There are many similarities between the two counties in terms of agriculture, demographics, policies, etc. Clackamas simply didn't want to keep getting onto battles with Multnomah County.
What about electing five county commissioners based on party and by district? It would simply add another layer of complexity, since most local issues tend to be nonpartisan.
Candidates: There are never many candidates for county commissioner because, while many people want to serve, most are not willing to run a political campaign. This is true for every elected office.
Is there really anything in the County Commissioner's job that is truly partisan? Maybe land use.
Ron Johnson closed the forum with this message: Think about what you want Marion County to look like in the future.

Homeland Security (April 2006)

Sandra Smith Gangle
Are we safe?
Detective Griff Holland, Domestic Terrorism Specialist with the Oregon State Police, and Detective Tyler Chapman, of the Marion County Sheriff's Department, talked on "Homeland Security in Oregon." They told a group of 18 League members and guests on April 18, 2006, that Oregon is not immune to the occurrence of terrorist-type activities. We have seen such activities in the past, and we should remain on the lookout for suspicious activities that could indicate danger is lurking once again.
The murder of Ethiopian Mulegeta Surah in Portland by skinhead white supremacists gave Oregon the reputation of a "hate-crime capital." Also, someone from the Rajneesh sprinkled salmonella poison on restaurant food in The Dalles in 1984 committing our nation's first case of bio-terrorism. In addition, arson fires and other property damage have been attributed to members of certain organizations that seek to spread their messages by means of violent tactics.
Holland said that there is a potential for future attacks on our infrastructure, such as power lines, bridges and roads. He expects that, at some point, suicide bombers may begin striking heavily populated areas.
Citizens as eyes and ears
We, as members of the public, can be the eyes and ears of law enforcement, Holland said. It was a member of the public in Snohomish County, Washington, that first reported a group of suspicious persons firing automatic weapons in a quarry, and their report ultimately led to the conviction of the Portland Seven, a terrorist group. We should let the authorities know promptly of any unusual activities we might observe that could signal violence.
A Threat Assessment Network consisting of thirty law-enforcement officers throughout our state shares information on possible dangerous activities as such reports are received. Investigations can be conducted and responsible parties apprehended.
Detective Chapman told us that, here in Marion County, some extremists are believed to be encouraging others to target businesses and construction sites where they believe the business activity is threatening animal rights or trees. While the advocacy itself may be constitutionally-protected speech, the advocates sometimes cross the line and recommend killing or eco-terrorism. That is when the police should be notified.
Report criminal activity
We should call 911 if we ever see illegal activity actually occurring. The Salem Police Department's non-emergency line should be called when other observations might need to be investigated. To obtain additional information about Homeland Security, Det. Holland's number is 503-378-6347 X286 and Det. Chapman's is 503-566-6910.
Preparedness
Holland also reminded the listeners that every family should be prepared to take care of its members for at least 72 hours in the event of a natural disaster or a terrorist activity. Even if a disaster were to occur at a distant location, it could result in a loss of electric power or other interruption of services in our city.

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