My Mistake

Tonight, I made an error and I want to report on it before anyone else puts a spin on it that just doesn't exist.

First, some background. I have MS. With this illness comes certain cognitive issues. One of them is memory. So, when I get excited, and forget to follow my established routine, I forget things that, in some cases, can be very important.

I didn't commit a crime, but I did exercise poor judgment.

When I go to public meetings, I take my digital recorder with me. It's not too high tech, just a MP3 player with recording abilities.

This evening, at the City Council meeting in Lafayette, there was an executive session scheduled to discuss the acquisition of property. When the public portion was closed, I exited the room so I could gather signatures for the initiative for the charter. I admit, I was hurried. I forgot my recorder in the room. Usually, I take it with me, because if I were to leave it there purposely, it would be unethical. But, I forgot. My mom reminded me after the meeting room was closed.

As soon as the room was reopened, the public portion began again. It was short and the meeting was adjourned. I picked up my recorder and showed it to the council. Before I could say a word, the Assistant to the CA and the CA were right there with accusations of malfeasance. There was none. I went to them and showed them that I was erasing the meeting. All of it. In fact, I have now lost every meeting I had recorded.

So, now I will go and pay the money to get a copy of the public portion. In the meantime, I feel like real stupid. I forget and now the city tells me that I did it on purpose. I didn't hide it and put it away before anyone noticed. I came to them. So, now they have the recorder (hopefully I'll get it back) and will probably lose all the songs that were on there as well. And, I'll be out the money on the recording for the meeting.

But, I am not dishonest, just feel really stupid.

I apologize to anyone if this makes them feel they have the need to doubt me. I'm just a guy trying to do the best I can with an illness that I have.

Darrell W Flood

Why Lafayette Isn't Really Broke

Years ago, a city's financing came from lands aloft. The federal government and state government set about creating budgets with cities in mind in a very general sense. They would have cities create great budgets with buckets and asked them to guess how much they would need to fill the bucket. Then, after great dickering, the cities would be given checks, usually a tad less than what they asked for. The cities would then spend the next year consuming these resources, using each bucket up on something that may closely resemble the name of the bucket. The next year, the game would start over. If the city did not spend all of the money in their buckets, the bigger government would make a lower amount available, using the argument that if they didn't spend it all, they didn't need as much.

Then the bigger government got wiser. They realized that just handing over funds to cities was the worst kind of welfare. No accountability. And no way for the cities to arrange to save money. So, a system was created to allow for cities to plan and grow.

Cities now are given their share of the property taxes that are generated within their cities. They are given their share of other taxes and fees that are generated because of their own activity. Then, the rest of the money they need is made available through the grant process. This way, the bigger government could pool the money in great savings accounts and make more money. The cities now can apply for a vast assortment of grants. Everything to fund their fire department, to build parks, to pave streets, to make water flow.

But, there is a catch. The cities have to ask for it. The bigger governments have made it simple – there are websites set up for grants. The instructions are easy to follow. Some are more involved. (This is where being a creative thinker and an articulate professional come in handy.) The bigger government decided that they would make the cities tell them what the money was going to be used for. They created a process that would make the cities prove the money had been spent that way. They would make the cities sign forms agreeing to treat people equitably.

But, in many cities across our great nation, they face the same issue we have in Lafayette, Oregon. Our local administration will not be bothered to fill out forms, or explain where the money goes. Instead, they whine and cry about how they hold their hands out and the money does not continue to flow through it. They cry poor because the lead of their pencil is broken and they refuse to sharpen it. In our town's case, we have had people offer to sharpen it. Volunteers have made themselves available to find and apply for the grants, but our administration says no. All because they are used to the old way and they refuse to look ahead and learn.

So, if we had administration that used the grant process in the way that it was intended, we could bank roughly 75% more in funds than we do now. And use grants to pay for the majority of the costs of our capitol and ongoing projects.

Ask your council why they don't!

http://wyden.senate.gov/ constituents/CRS.cfm

2008 Lafayette Charter - Update

I am not always the first to admit my mistakes. I made a big mistake.

I was reading the story in the News Register about the 2008 Lafayette Charter that I filed on Friday August 1, 2008. In the article Nicole listed of some of the changes we have written into the new charter. I got to the part that said "One Provision would cut the city administrator and assistant administrator positions to 24 hours a week" and I thought we didn't write that part. Turns out that could be implied. Thanks to the News Register we were able to correct what would have been a grievous mistake. Our intention was to make the city administrator part time and keep the full time assistant city administrator.

So to correct this error before it becomes a real problem I have canceled the initiative I filed on Friday August 1, 2008. We have fixed that problem and another we found and will file the correct Charter on Monday August 4, 2008. We are sorry about any inconvenience this may have caused but, we did not want to compound the problem.

UPDATE: I did file the revised Charter with the City on Monday August 4, 2008 8:14 a.m. I am sure that there will be a meeting scheduled very shortly to assign an outside elections official to the initiative. I will post that time here and on the group site located at: http://groups.google.com/group/ourlafayetteoregonvoice I have also changed all links in news articles or recent items to the 2008 Lafayette Charter to the most current version. Previous versions can still be found in the file area under city charter section.

Chief Petitioner, Darrell Flood, filed an Initiative at Lafayette City Hall at 10:00 am Tuesday, July 15, 2008. The timeline has passed to provide the Chief Petitioner with a response as to the constitutionality of the filing. Instead, the Elections Official, Trena McManus has provided a statement advising a potential conflict of interest to Mr. Flood as well as to the Lafayette City Council. The City Administrator, Diane Rinks, and City Attorney, Andy Jordan, of Jordan Schrader Ramis, PC, have also filed letters advising the Council of a potential conflict. That leaves it to the City Council to determine a course of action, one that should have already been decided.

A complaint was filed, by Mr. Flood, at the Oregon Secretary of State’s Election Office on Thursday, July 24, 2008 advising the City has violated election law. Mr. Flood has still not received a response to the initiative and the issue has been forwarded to the Council for their next scheduled meeting on August 14, 2008, per correspondence from Ms. McManus. At that point, several more timelines will have passed. Mr. Flood advises he will continue to work with the State Elections Office until the issue is resolved.

The State Elections Office advises a city refusing to comply with the law has not generally been an issue before Lafayette.

For more information on the Initiative click here, and the City's responses click here .

I have included a copy of the text of Mr. Flood's complaint and the State Elections Division's response received on July 26, 2008. click here

The story continues with Letters of Inquiry from the State Elections Division to the City of Lafayette.

Darrell Flood can be contacted at 503-857-2555

Council may be contacted at the following:

Mayor Don Leard 503-550-1522

Council President Michael Roberts 503-864-8004

Councilor Bob Cullen 503-864-4942

Councilor Matt Smith 503-550-3451

Councilor Art Bixman 503-864-4265

Council Robert Sweitzer 503-864-8437

The newsletter we recently received in our water bills in the past few, or will receive in the next few, days is an opportunity to take part in vital planning for the City of Lafayette. We encourage you to read it through and contribute information.

Many citizens here can remember the days of drought. Or the fallout from Mt. St. Helens and the impact it had. Or know what hazards the train coming through town can carry. Or, how about when we all last power winter before last for several days?

While we don’t know where this idea came from, we are encouraged the city is finally beginning to take citizen needs more seriously. The last public information is that our council had directed our city staff, with much backing from our city administrator, to not spend any time or resources doing any emergency planning.

Over the next few days, we will be able to provide more information to you regarding this study.

Such as:

Are we paying for this? How much?

When did it start?

What happened to finally make it a serious project?

How can we become more involved?

Continuing in her capacity as our citizen emergency training and contact, Bonnie Pursel has, again, stepped up to the plate and offered to work directly with citizens and with URS Corporation in providing and retrieving information. URS Corporation is the company that is providing the technical support for this effort.

Please read your newsletter (or click on the one we have here if the print is too small on yours) and contribute information. Continue to stay informed about your town.

Any questions can be directed to any of the following:

Bonnie Pursel, Citizen Emergency Coordinator

disaster.ready2008@gmail.com

Laura_young@urscorp.com

Karen_m_brown@urscorp.com

June 16, 2008

Lafayette to burn city property on June 22, 2008 between the hours of 8am and 5pm. If you live within miles of downtown Lafayette, make sure to keep your windows tight. Don’t do laundry, and come a few days, don’t you dare water your lawn.

Lafayette City Administrator Diane Rinks and Fire Chief Terry Lucich have deemed the McMinnville Fire Training Tower inadequate for Lafayette’s Fire Department Training needs.

Against citizen’s protests (and local ordinances), Diane Rinks and Terry Lucich will be destroying city property. They are moving forward with a ‘Burn to Learn’ of viable city resources. Diane has stated on numerous occasions this particular building contains a non-toxic mold. Citizen’s have asked for the opportunity to volunteer and do a quality deconstruction.

But, quality deconstruction takes time. And is citizen friendly and sustainable. Diane Rinks has no patience for any of these things. Even our own city burning guidelines state‘ the days of burning trash, tires, plastic, petroleum products, asphalt, industrial waste or anything that creates dense smoke or noxious odors are over and gone’.

To bolster the effort, Diane calls upon the town mayor, Don Leard for support of the project. Don owns the property next door to the building and is looking forward to the use of the additional parking spaces for his rental units and the avoidance of roofing shingles on his property. Although they get lost in his tall grass, he feels the building needs to go. On a side note, the council will be looking at acquiring neighboring property to the burn site to expand the city hall footprint. Would this be the same property the mayor owns? Only he and Diane know for sure. After the burn, the city council has authorized $100,000.00 to pave the square to put in parking (until the new city hall is built). It should also be noted that not one of the people involved in this decision (the administrator, the fire chief or the mayor, live in Lafayette).

In Lafayette, we are hard pressed for decent drinking water. And come summer, we have no water pressure to speak of. But, apparently, we will not have the need for rationing this year. Because the fire department has thousands of gallons at their disposal for this project. This project doesn’t even calculate the cost to groundwater pollution.

I support educating our fire personnel. Not 10 miles down the road is a beautiful training facility for just such a project. Does it lose something not seeing the actual destruction? If so, then our police forces should be allowed to let convicted criminals escape so they may practice their weapon firing accuracy. This is why simulation facilities exist. Technology makes actual situations no longer necessary.

Greensburg, Kansas is providing an example of how to behave as a city who wants to grow and be sustainable. Lafayette, Oregon is at the other end of the spectrum. Some day, Lafayette, too, will be held as an example – of how to extinguish a town.

Bring a mask and join me for an old fashioned protest.

Angela Flood

---

City of Yamhill

City Recorder Charged in Thefts

March 7, 2008 
 
The Recorder for the City of Yamhill has been arrested on charges relating to the theft of over $18,000 in city funds. Sandra Elizabeth Wodarczak (48) of rural Yamhill was lodged in the Yamhill County Jail on the charges of Aggravated Theft, and Official Misconduct. Wodarczak has been the City Recorder and City Treasurer since 2000.

According to Yamhill County Sheriff Jack Crabtree, the investigation began February 29, 2008, when official’s from the City of Yamhill requested that Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office Detectives begin an investigation into missing funds. “City staff identified missing deposits of cash that had occurred over the past year. Mayor Murphy contacted an auditing service, who determined that over $18,000.00 was unaccounted for.  The missing funds appear to be from numerous transactions over the past calendar year” Crabtree said.  Wodarczak is cooperating with the investigation 

On March 04, 2008, Detectives from the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office arrested Wodarczak on $15,000 security. She was later released on her own recognizance.   

Anyone with information or inquiries into this case may contact Sergeant Russ Ludwig at (503) 434-7506 ext. 4580.

Official Press Release

City Administrator Ready to Torch City Building

At the end of the city council meeting on February 14, 2008, City Administrator, Diane Rinks, advised the council of her plans to move forward on setting fire to city property, against the code of the city and the wishes of many.

The referenced building was previously used as an apartment building. This building is located directly behind city hall and within yards of a private residence. Ms. Rinks advised the building currently houses public documents.

But, as these documents are purged from the building, Ms. Rinks plans to have the fire department burn the building down. Citizens have asked that the building be deconstructed, due to the environmental hazard. In fact, burning the building down would be against the city’s own guidelines because of such a hazard.

Ms. Rinks apparently feels that city guidelines do not apply to city property, as the fire department will be responsible for issuing the permit. Currently, city guidelines advises commercial building fires are not allowed and only yard debris, trimmings and clippings at a private home are allowed.

Citizens are planning on making contact with several environmental organizations in an effort to stop this commercial burn. But, as many projects within the city are undertaken without public notice, there is no recognized timeline when this burn will take place.

The following speech was presented by Lafayette resident, Darrell Flood, to the Council, at the January Council meeting. The speech included handouts referencing the U.S. Constitution, the Oregon Constitution, The Lafayette City Charter, and the Lafayette City Council Rules. The Council did not respond to Mr. Floods warning.

On August 9 2007, Andy Jordan told the Council that city meetings do not, in fact, belong to citizens. He said that the council sessions "are your meetings". "Input," he said, "from citizens on matters before the city can happen only if it is permitted by those running the meeting." He also added that meetings are not meant for citizens; rather, for those elected officials who need to conduct the business of the city.

Attorney Jordan said that the definition of a public meeting does not mean a meeting of the public, and you (staff and Council) have the right to accomplish your meeting without disruption. He said, "The law does not allow or require citizen input at meetings."

Here is what he didn't tell you.

The law is made up of what is written and what is implied, the letter and the intent. Do you understand what is meant by implied? I guess the most common example is in 'Implied Consent'. When first responders enter a room and find an unconscious person it is implied or assumed that he would like help.

The Lafayette City Council Agenda has the same kind of implied consent. In the section marked 'Citizen Input on non-agenda items' it clearly states 'NON-AGENDA ITEMS'. What does this mean to you? This is the time when citizens can bring before the council whatever they have on their minds that is not on the agenda. But, if that is when citizens can bring up their own items, when can they weigh in on agenda items? The City Administrator stated in an email to my wife that it is not the policy or practice to put citizens on the agenda. This is a violation of your council rules section 5.1. I ask again, when can a citizen address agenda items? The answer is in the law. It implies that citizens would have a right to discuss or weigh in on AGENDA ITEMS.

When you have items on the agenda the procedure is to have a motion, then a second and then discussion. Not just a discussion for the councilors, but for all citizens.

So let's go to the law. I have given you a copy of the laws that apply to this case. You can see that the U.S. Constitution, the Oregon Constitution, The Lafayette City Charter, and the Lafayette City Council Rules all agree. The right to free speech is basic and guaranteed.

You have all been given the laws that apply to all citizens. So, the next time you shut down a citizen during a discussion, you know you are violating constitutional law. Do we need to file a civil rights complaint to be heard?

The following information was distributed to the Councilors for their examination.

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Section 1. Natural rights inherent in people. We declare that all men, when they form a social compact are equal in right: that all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; and they have at all times a right to alter, reform, or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper.

Section 8. Freedom of speech and press. No law shall be passed restraining the free expression of opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print freely on any subject whatever; but every person shall be responsible for the abuse of this right.

Section 26. Assemblages of people; instruction of representatives; application to legislature. No law shall be passed restraining any of the inhabitants of the State from assembling together in a peaceable manner to consult for their common good; nor from instructing their Representatives; nor from applying to the Legislature for redress of grievances [sic].

We, the people of Lafayette, Oregon, in order to avail ourselves of self-determination in municipal affairs to the fullest extent now or hereafter possible under the constitutions and laws of the United States and the State of Oregon, through this charter confer upon the city the following powers, subject it to the following restrictions, prescribe for it the following procedures and governmental structure, and repeal all previous charter provisions of the city.

5. AGENDA

5.1 The City Administrator shall prepare an agenda of the business to be presented at a regular Council meeting. The items on the agenda should follow the formal order of business prescribed elsewhere in these rules. The City Administrator, Mayor, Council Members or the public may request that a matter be placed on the agenda. The City Administrator shall have the discretion of placing an item on the agenda for the upcoming meeting or a subsequent meeting because of time constraints or time needed for compilation of materials. Requests for placement of an item on the agenda must be received by the City Administrator by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday a week prior to a regularly scheduled meeting.

5.2 Regular meetings shall be conducted in the following order of business, subject to the right of the mayor, with council consent, to alter the order of business:

• Call to order.
• Flag Salute.
• Roll call.
• Approval of minutes from previous regular meeting.
• Review proceedings and approve minutes of special meetings.
• Additions and Deletions. The purpose of this item is to add or delete items on the agenda. Items may be added or deleted by the City Administrator, Mayor, or with concurrence of a majority of the Council.
• Public hearings. All public hearings will be subject to notice requirements as listed in other city ordinances and state law, unless there are none, and then a Notice of Public Hearing shall be placed in a local newspaper a minimum of one time within the 7 days prior to the meeting. A copy of this Notice of Public Hearing shall also be posted at City Hall during that time.
• Citizen Input on non-agenda items. The purpose of this item is to allow citizens to address the council on matters related to city government and properly the object of council consideration. A time limit of five minutes per citizen shall apply, unless the Mayor, prior to the Citizen Input period, decides to allocate less time. Citizen comment shall not exceed 30 minutes unless the council votes to suspend the rules. The Council shall not take action on issues raised during this portion of the agenda until a later date.