Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009
Page 12
Clashing conclusions as county vehicle fleet flap finished
dent, dissented.
In early April, Cassanelli
went to conduct the inspec-
tions, accompanied by Grants
Pass resident Jack Brown, an
auto mechanic and political
activist. Dale Matthews, of
Rogue Valley Network,
videotaped the inspections.
Brown said that he was
invited because Cassanelli
“wanted someone that had at
least a moderate grasp” of
mechanics for the checking.
“I was looking at the
vehicles with several things in
mind,” he said. “Were there
things that should be replaced
that weren’t? What was their
overall condition? Do they
look dependable and well-
maintained?”
One of the first issues
facing Brown, Cassanelli and
Matthews: finding the rigs.
“We were given the
runaround as to where they
would be,” Brown said. “We
went all over the county to
catch up with them. We
would find out that they were
not where they were sup-
posed to have been.”
Nonetheless, the inspec-
tions continued, and its find-
ings were summarized in a
six-page official report,
“Investigation Tour of Jose-
phine County Vehicles.”
“Official maintenance
records are meticulous in
detail, indicating how often
oil and oil filters are com-
pletely changed, for exam-
ple,” the report states. “Yet
they indicate big gaps in other
routine procedures.”
The report goes so far as
to accuse Brandes of ordering
Doreen Ferguson, county
parks supervisor, to hinder
the investigation.
“According to Ms. Fer-
guson, she and Mr. Brandes
had more than one meeting in
which he instructed her to
By SCOTT JORGENSEN
IVN Staff Writer
What began as a seem-
ingly routine request has
turned into one of the latest
political battles in Josephine
County.
Last spring, Public
Works Director Rob Brandes
asked the board of county
commissioners to approve
purchasing seven replacement
vehicles. Commissioner
Sandi Cassanelli questioned
the need, and suggested an
inspection on the vehicles
scheduled to be replaced.
Commission Chairman
Dwight Ellis voted with Cas-
sanelli to allow the inspec-
tion. Commissioner Dave
Toler, an Illinois Valley resi-
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deny access under the hood,”
it states.
Brandes also is accused
in the report of deliberately
switching vehicles during the
inspections.
“Why would Public
Works demand that specific
vehicles need to be scrapped
‘There is a timeliness factor to this. Every
day that goes by, we risk the potential of
losing a lot of money for our taxpayers.’
~ Dave Toler
for urgent safety reasons, yet
switch these same vehicles
for others during the inspec-
tion?” the report states.
But perhaps the most
controversial portion of the
report came in its conclusion.
“In sum, we have found
evidence that elements of the
county fleet may be endan-
gering the lives of the public
and our workers,” the report
states. “But the problem is not
simply older vehicles. It is
poor maintenance standards
and belligerent management.”
Brown said that he iden-
tified several issues during
the inspection, including the
fact that many of the vehicles
slated for replacement had
brand-new tires.
“That was a red flag to
me,” he said. “To buy a set of
new tires for a vehicle that
you’re getting ready to dump
doesn’t make sense, in my
mind, unless someone’s try-
ing to buy it.”
In response to the report,
Brandes requested an inde-
pendent audit of his depart-
ment’s programs, procedures
and documentation.
According to a Sept. 14
memorandum from Public
Works to county commis-
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of the county vehicle fleet.
“During the exit inter-
view and recap, Mr.
McKenzie’s clear impres-
sions were that the Josephine
County Fleet program is
meeting, and in many cases
exceeding, best industry prac-
tices for maintenance work
on our vehicles,” the memo
states. “Additionally, he was
fully satisfied that all neces-
sary safeguards and protocols
are in place to ensure the con-
tinued safety of county vehi-
cle users, the general public,
and county fleet staff.”
Brown is criticized in the
memo for allegedly engaging
in unsafe practices during his
inspection.
According to the memo,
“Mr. Brown did exactly what
I asked him not to do. He put
his own safety on the line by
placing his hand in an engine
compartment with the engine
running. This puts the county
in a position where any harm
to him could be a liability to
the county.
“His negligence is unac-
ceptable. This is why it was
strongly suggested that citi-
zens not be allowed to inves-
tigate.”
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“seemed to me to beg a re-
sponse,” Rich said.
But Brown claims that
McKenzie used information
for the audit that was never
made available to him during
his inspection of the fleet. He
also disputes the portion of
the Public Works report ac-
cusing him of engaging in
unsafe practices during the
inspection.
“I know what’s safe and
what’s not safe,” Brown said.
“I was not being unsafe,
unless they had severe dam-
age to the vehicles that
they’re not talking about.”
Overall, Brown said that
In the initial inspection
videotape, Matthews is heard
making any number of com-
ments strongly objected to by
Public Works personnel.
“This lack of profession-
alism and apparent ignorance
concerning vehicle mainte-
nance is disappointing,” the
memo states. “These com-
ments are degrading to the
Fleet Program Supervisor,
county mechanics and Public
Works in general. They are
not taking the process seri-
ously.”
During the county com-
mission administrative meet-
ing Tuesday, Sept. 22 at the
courthouse in Grants Pass,
commissioners voted 2-1 to
accept the audit conducted by
McKenzie into the record,
along with the counter-report
issued by Public Works.
Cassanelli cast the dis-
senting vote, stating, “There
are inaccuracies in this report
that I would like to address,”
and that she was not given
adequate time to review and
respond to the documents.
Toler disagreed, and said
that the original report
“leaves this county under a
serious (liability) situation.”
“There is a timeliness
factor to this,” he said. “Every
day that goes by, we risk the
potential of losing a lot of
money for our taxpayers.”
Rosemary Padgett, the
county’s chief financial offi-
cer, agreed with Toler’s as-
sertion that having the origi-
nal vehicle inspection report
in the public record with no
response does put the county
at risk.
Legal Counsel Steve
Rich later verified that he
advised the county board to
respond to the initial report
and address it in some fash-
ion. That report and the
videotape of the inspections
sioners, Jim Lefebvre was
contacted on Aug. 25 to con-
duct the audit. He owns Star
Automotive in Grants Pass.
The memo states that on
Aug. 27, Dave McKenzie,
Star Automotive service man-
ager, spent more than two
hours conducting a review of
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