Cronyism is alive and well in Troutdale

Troutdale resident John Wilson gave me permission to share the public comment he gave at the February 28, 2017 Troutdale city council meeting:

"I would like to talk about cronyism.  For those who do not know what this means, I will give you the definition:

Cronyism is the practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations.  For instance, this includes appointing "cronies" to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications.

  Mayor and the council, you may be wondering why I would like to talk about this.  The reason is what took place at the Committee Interview and selection meeting a few weeks back.

 First, let me say I am not hurt, upset or angry that I was not selected, and if Glenn White and Zach Hudson want to keep the Citizens Advisory Committee from having a knowledgeable member on that committee,  it was their call.

 I attended the entire meeting and I am here tonight for the other citizens of Troutdale that gave up their evening in hopes they could give back to the community.  I had told Rob Canfield who was also there, that after Corey Brooks interviewed  he would be selected for the Budget and Planning Committee, no matter who else interviewed.

 There were many better qualified candidates to be on the budget committee, more qualified than all of the City Council and myself.  You have one candidate who had a Masters degree and works for the county preparing budgets.  They have done this for many years.  Glenn (city councilor Glenn White) is on record as saying he thought there may be a conflict since he did budgets for the county.  Glenn, you have had the applications since January, you had plenty of time to check, you didn’t because you already knew who was going in this seat.  This was a very empty  gesture on your part.
 

Almost everyone that applied for the Budget committee had a bachelors degree and worked in accounting.    Glenn do you remember  last year when you were insistent that the person selected should have a degree in accounting?  You are on the record as saying this.  What happened to the same philosophy this year?  (City councilors) Glenn, Rich, Zach and David you could hear crickets around the room when Tanney announced Corey as his selection for the voting seat and alternate.

   The best qualified are supposed to be picked, but instead the friend of Glenn, Rich, Zach, David and got picked.  This person campaigned with Zach, Rich and Glenn and was supported by Tanney. For qualifications,  the other candidates had college degrees and experience with budgets and planning. The only qualification Corey Brooks could offer was his association with  (city councilors) Glenn, Rich, Zach, and David.

  The people who came in applying for the Planning Commission  had  college degrees.  One had a Masters degree in planning and land use laws.  Did he get picked?  No. The same person that was picked for the budget committee was also picked for the planning commission-- Corey Brooks.  

I do believe that Corey Brooks is a good husband, Father, honest and a good member of the community but he did not rise above the others, others raised well above him.

 My belief is that he was picked for the budget committee and planning commission  so he will have some city experience under his belt in two years to run for office. Because he is friends of Glenn, Rich, Zach and Tanney, all the other applicants had no chance of being selected .

In other words--- cronyism. 

Mayor,  I believe that as long as these three councilors  and the chair of the budget and planning commission are around,  the application to be on one of the committees should include “ Unless you are friends with Councilors Glenn White, Rich Allen, Zach Hudson or Committee Chair Tanney Staffensen ,don’t apply for the Budget Committee, Planning Commission or Citizen’s Advisory Committee because cronyism is key to getting on them”.

 Mayor, I believe that a committee person should only be chair of one committee and should only be chair once in their 2 , 3 or 4 year tenure. I believe that I have proved my point tonight with what has taken place in the Budget and Planning Committees by the current chair and certain members of the City Council.  I would like you to look into this and hopefully make it happen.

 While the council and the selection committee are free to choose whomever they want, certain council members have demonstrated that they have no ethics when it comes to selecting the right people for certain committees.  I do believe that the middle schools teach ethics,  and would suggest that these city councilors go back to middle school and take those ethics classes. 

 I do not hold you Mayor Ryan or Councilor Lauer responsible for this,  as this is the first rodeo of this type you have been at.  I also do not hold Councilor Morgan responsible as he was not at this meeting.
 

I do hold Councilors Glenn White, Rich Allen, Zach Hudson, David Rimpa as well as Tanney Staffenson, the Chair for the Budget Committee and Planning Commission responsible for the cronyism that took place at this meeting."

COMING SOON! Can You Balance Troutdale's Budget?, Part 1

We'll be featuring the multi-part series "Can You Balance Troutdale's Budget?" in a few days. Stay tuned here for more details!

When Jimmy Carter Threw Federal Peanuts At Troutdale

"Five years ago, the City of Troutdale had three paid employees. Two months ago, the number had jumped to 25.  Today it stands at 89." . . . "Since June,  with more than $250, 000 in CETA special projects grants, the Troutdale staff has more than tripled. "-- The Oregonian, August 28, 1977

The Oregonian,Metro Section, August 28, 1977

Shortly after taking office 36 years ago, President Jimmy Carter gave Troutdale and hundreds of other cities across the nation large quantities of federal dollars.

The United States was going through a recession. Like Roosevelt before him and Obama today, President Carter decided to create jobs by throwing money at the recession. At the time,  it was one of the last gasps of 1930's New Deal make-work programs.


In 1976, Troutdale's city budget was $8.1 million. Thanks to President Carter, in 1977  the city's staff levels exploded after receiving over $250,000 in  Federal Comprehensive Training and Employment Act (CETA) funds.

Most people now agree that CETA, much like Roosevelt's New Deal, failed to stimulate the economy and ended up being just another "government jobs program that didn't work."

 According to the Oregonian article, many of  Troutdale's  CETA funded city employees were hired for  make-work projects such as:


"Organizing sports and other events,  including classes in belly-dancing,  ceramics, and jewelry making". . .

"Artists in residence Project: The city has hired a painter and sculptor to produce some art for the city. The sculptor is creating a wooden train for children to play on in Depot Park and a metal sculpture for outside city hall. . ."

The Oregonian article explained that "The regular CETA funds have allowed Troutdale to double its police force from three to six, to hire a city hall custodian, police records clerk,  and building plans worker.

When the CETA one-time grant money was gone, guess what the city did? You guessed it! They put a $60,000 one year serial levy on the ballot in May, 1978 to replace some of the CETA money. Fortunately for all those new city  employees, the levy passed, YES 459, NO 264.

The Oregonian, August 28, 1977

A street light levy also  passed: Yes 286, No 97. (The city's street lights had been turned off because they couldn't afford the electricity bill.)

Today, Troutdale's city budget is running six figure deficits, resulting in alarmingly decreasing reserves. It makes you wonder.

When Troutdale does run out of money, will local voters be willing to pass a local option levy like they did in 1977, when their CETA money ran out?

Stay tuned tomorrow for a history of operating levy elections in Troutdale from 1978 to the present.

What Will Troutdale Do When It Runs Out Of Money?

In just a few weeks, Troutdale will have a new Mayor and a new City Councilor. The new City Council will face steep challenges in the new year.

Troutdale's 2012-2013 deficit-laden budget approved by the city's Budget Committee and adopted by the City Council in June 2012 spent $338,000 more than the city's revenues. And now, Troutdale faces an estimated $97,000 budget shortfall in the 2012-2013 fiscal year due to falling assessed property taxes.

 I agree with the prime concern of the City Council and Budget Committee. No one wants to reduce city services! We can all agree on that. Having said that, what happens when the money runs out? What do we do then?

At its current rate of spending, Troutdale's city staff acknowledged it only has enough money in reserves to maintain existing service levels for a couple of years. In the 2012-2013 budget document, city staff wrote,

"The adopted budget maintains the necessary unappropriated balance of about $2,000,000 to meet the operational needs of the City between July 1st and November before property taxes receipts arrive. Dropping below that level could require the City to borrow money to meet the operating needs and could potentially also reduce the bond and credit rating of the City. The adopted budget uses $338,000 of the reserves above that level to maintain existing service levels. The reserves would enable the City to sustain service levels for the next couple of years, consuming reserves at this modest rate."

In spite of the city's precarious financial position, other than token budget cuts of around $30,000 for the 2012-2013 budget, neither the city's Budget Committee or the City Council seemed interested in reducing the city's deficit spending.

 I agree with the prime concern of the City Council and Budget Committee. No one wants to reduce city services! We can all agree on that. Having said that, what happens when the money runs out? What do we do then? PERS costs will go up. Health insurance costs will go up. City revenues could diminish even further.

This is not a problem that just came up out of the blue sky. I've written several times about Troutdale's budget problems here, and here, and here, and here. The question remains- what do we do when the money runs out?

No one wants to reduce city services, but what do we do when the money runs out?

What do we do when the money runs out?

Will Troutdale Stop Its Annual Budget Deficits?

With an 8-5 vote last night, the Troutdale Budget Committee directed that city staff come back with alternate city budgets to compare with the existing proposed 2012-2013 budget that spends $350,000 from the city's reserve dollars-- an alternate proposed budget that spends only $150,000 from reserves, and one that spends zero dollars from reserves. They want to see what these deeper budget cuts would look like. City staff will be providing these alternate budgets to the committee at the next budget meeting early next month. (See the proposed budget here).