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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2017)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 14, 2017 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Budgetary frustrations Keizer’s government is getting ready for budget committee meetings that will commence next month. The budget committee, comprised of all seven city councilors and seven citizens, will discuss and debate the budget as presented by the city manager and the fi nance director. After a series of public meetings the com- mittee will vote on the budget recommendations they will forward to the city council for fi nal approval in June. Every year in recent times, the city’s budget has resulted in frustration all around from committee members to councilors to residents. By its very nature a budget will disappoint peo- ple—pet projects won’t be funded. For years now, additional and needed police offi cers have not been funded because the city’s PERS and health insurance fi nancial obligations take precedence. The same is true for the city’s 19 parks. Keizer’s parks receive a mere $300,000 out of the city’s budget each year. Park supporters are doing something about it; they just fi nished a citizen survey to see if homeowners would get behind a surcharge to their water/sewer bills to be used solely for parks. The results were released earlier this month; the council will schedule a special meeting to look at what the next steps might be. No decision will be made on adding a surcharge with- out lots of input from residents via public hearings. Is this a route police supporters can travel as well? We think it would be heavy lifting to ask homeowners to be enthusiastic about adding a second surcharge to water bills to augment current budget levels for the Keizer Police Department. We can all be frustrated that there is not enough money to pay for the things we want. Any serious, civic-minded government will always fund what is needed fi rst before funding what is wanted. It is no longer a matter of living within one’s means. The city’s means are con- stantly chipped away with yearly increases in PERS and health insurance expenses. The decision was made decades ago to change the tax system in Or- egon, that included freezing city tax rates where they were. Our city of 37,000 operates on $2.08 per every $1,000 of property valuation. It used to be a right of bragging that Keizer had the lowest tax rate of any full ser- vice in Oregon. No one’s bragging now. No one likes taxes. But, at the same time no one likes potholes or over- grown parks or high crime. Our taxes pay for the services we depend upon. The city of Ontario, at the far east- ern end of the state, has its own fi nan- cial problems. Leaders there are taking the extraordinary step of considering adding a sales tax. Desperate times call for desperate measures. A sales tax may be a bridge too far, but we must get creative. It would be unfortunate if the only choice left to us was to lay off city employees or close city parks or raise fees the city charges. Barring a change in the ability to raise the city’s tax rate, we’ll have to fi nance city operations the old fashioned way—levies and bonds. —LAZ Support for Mark Bateman To the Editor: Mark Bateman is an ex- cellent candidate for the Salem-Keizer School Board. I have observed him in pub- lic meetings which had complex is- sues, emotional overtones and multiple points of view. He is respectful, a great listener and asks questions that go to the heart of the matter. Further, he is analytical and clearly looks at the “big picture.” I cannot think of a more important issue than the education of our chil- dren and grandchildren. As the S-K School Board makes policy decisions, it needs members like Mark Bateman. Dave Smedema Keizer tive individuals I have ever known. His education, his life experience, his knowl- edge of the Salem-Keizer schools, his faith, his com- mitment as a parent with children in the school dis- trict—all qualify him as a person to bring insight, wisdom and character to major decisions facing our educational system in the upcoming decade. A man of vision, he also has a clear understanding of fi scal issues and will seek ways to creatively fund the vital programs needed by our children in this global economy. Persons with such a background often shun public service, but Mark is offering himself to serve and we need to see that he has that opportunity. Vote for Mark Bateman! Joe Scahill Keizer To the Editor: I write to encourage persons in the Keizer area to support Mark Bateman for the Salem-Keizer School Board. Mark is one of the most percep- Email a letter to the editor (300 words) by noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com our opinion letters Share your opinion Advisers who have military ties By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS Before he was elected president, Donald Trump told biographer Mi- chael D’Antonio that his attendance at a military boarding school gave him “more training mili- tarily than a lot of guys that go into the military.” As president, he has stacked his top echelon with guys who went into the military -- and they are among those who ad- vised the new president before he ordered 59 cruise missiles be launched into a Syrian air base. When Trump compared his years at New York Military Academy to military service, some veterans were quick to point out that Trump re- ceived multiple draft deferments during the Vietnam War -- as did former Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Dick Cheney. And yet Trump has an ardor for surrounding himself with former military men and appointing a considerable number of veterans to his Cabinet. One-third -- or eight out of 24 -- of Trump’s Cabinet-level picks have served in the military. The list includes departments -- Defense, Homeland Security, Na- tional Intelligence and CIA -- where defense expertise would be expected. But Trump also has found veterans to head other agencies. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was a Navy SEAL. Energy Secretary Rick Perry fl ew C-130 cargo planes in the Air Force. Attorney General Jeff Sessions served in the Army Re- serves. Trump’s would-be Agricul- ture Secretary Sonny Perdue -- who along with Trump’s picks as labor secretary and U.S. trade representa- tive has not been confi rmed -- was an Air Force captain. “It’s huge,” said Veterans of For- eign Wars spokesman Joe Davis, who fi gures that 7 percent of the U.S. population -- a fraction of Trump’s Cabinet -- has worn the uniform. He added that four top-level advis- ers have close family members with strong ties to the service. The brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was a Navy SEAL. Small Business Association head Linda McMahon grew up on a military base. So did Vet- erans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin -- who happens to be the fi rst VA secretary not to have served in the military. “My father was an Army psychia- trist, both grandfathers were Army veterans, and my paternal grandfather served as chief pharmacist at the VA hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. As a young doctor, I trained in VA hospi- tals,” Shulkin said in a statement. “One thing we have found is that you don’t have to be a veteran to love veterans,” said Davis, “and that’s Dr. Shulkin.” Vice President Mike Pence is not a veteran, but he is a Blue Star father; his son Michael is a Marine. The ratio of veterans in the Trump administration represents a big bump from President Barack Obama’s fi rst Cabinet, which included only two veterans -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates and VA Secretary Eric Shin- seki. Obama’s fi rst Cabinet members were three times more likely to have graduated from law school than boot camp. Veteran Legal Institute CEO Dwight Stirling believes demograph- ics play a role. Obama is 55; Trump is 70. “I think the reason there were so few veterans in the Obama ad- ministration was largely generational. Between the end of the Vietnam War and the Gulf War in the ‘90s, very few white-collar professionals decided to serve in the military.” other views The fi rst cabinet of President George W. Bush claimed six veterans, seven after Bush named Tom Ridge as secretary of homeland security. Stirling expects Trump to hire veterans who “have a viewpoint con- sistent with his ideology.” There also could be a lifestyle match. Trump picked people who were highly successful in their fi elds -- in the military or on Wall Street. Of Trump’s 24 advisers, nine, includ- ing Pence, have law degrees. Three of the eight Cabinet-level veterans also have law degrees. There are three doctors, including an acclaimed neu- rosurgeon and a veterinarian, nomi- nated for Trump’s Cabinet. “He’s surrounding himself with military people so he can be their commander in chief,” scoffed Bob Mulholland, California Democratic Party spokesman and a Vietnam vet. “The president ran on a platform of supporting the military and sup- porting our veterans. It is very en- couraging to see that he surrounded himself with career military veterans and one-term military veterans, and military family members,” countered Davis. Zinke has said he believes his ser- vice in the Navy SEALs uniquely in- forms, for example, his take on coal. “It is, from a SEAL perspective, it is better to make sure we’re not held hostage on our energy needs in this country. And like you, I don’t want my kids -- sons and daughters -- to have to fi ght a war for energy re- sources we have here,” Zinke said at a recent White House briefi ng. “And look, the world is safer when America is stronger, and America stronger is not being dependent on foreign services for energy,” he said. “We can do it here right, and we will.” (Creators Syndicate) Don’t let Washington cut Medicare By GENE H. McINTYRE Any U.S. “senior” who’s been on Medicare long enough to use it, already knows how vital to saving one’s per- sonal solvency it truly is. What amazes is that there are actually persons elected to represent the American people in their respective districts who plan now to change Medicare so that it will increase its cost in premiums thousands of dol- lars per year, rendering its cover- age unaffordable to many Ameri- cans who have already paid for it throughout their working lives. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan would jeopardize the current guar- anteed level of Medicare coverage. In its place would be “vouchers” or “premium supports” which seniors could try to buy from the private sector, meaning from profi t seek- ers who are known to care little to none about ability to pay. Further, Ryan and GOP leadership in Wash- ington, D.C. argue —on behalf of what they want to accomplish— that Medicare is “going broke.” Meanwhile, according to a Con- gressional Budget Offi ce report, Medicare’s not going broke; in fact, the CBO report discloses that Medi- care’s fi scal strength has improved in recent years while the Part A trust fund is fully funded for at least an- other eleven years. Then, too, im- mediate revenues are projected to pay 87 percent of costs, declining to 79 percent by 2040. President Trump cam- paigned on a promise not to “touch” the benefi ts seniors have earned, say- ing “I am going to pro- tect and save your Social Security and Medicare” as “you made a deal a long time ago.” Trump has not al- ways stood by his statements while this one, if not observed, will direly, even devastatingly, impact mil- lions of older Americans should he take back his promise and proceed guest opinion Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGING EDITOR Eric A. Howald editor@keizertimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Derek Wiley news@keizertimes.com One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY ADVERTISING Publication No: USPS 679-430 Paula Moseley advertising@keizertimes.com POSTMASTER Send address changes to: PRODUCTION MANAGER Andrew Jackson Keizertimes Circulation graphics@keizertimes.com 142 Chemawa Road N. LEGAL NOTICES Keizer, OR 97303 legals@keizertimes.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com BUSINESS MANAGER Laurie Painter billing@keizertimes.com Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon RECEPTION Lori Beyeler facebook.com/keizertimes twitter.com/keizertimes to stand with Ryan and others. As a “Blue Dog” or conserva- tive Democrat, I don’t know where Kurt Schrader, our 5th District Congressman, stands on Medicare. Handy to us, Congress is on a cur- rent two-week break and he’s got an offi ce in Salem. If Schrader votes with the Republicans against Medi- care and those members of Con- gress have their way, every Medicare recipient in need of medical services will soon fi nd himself in a world of fi nancial hurt. Readers who want Medicare preserved as is, may want to fi nd the time to contact Schrader. (Gene H. McIntyre lives in Keizer.)