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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2015)
2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 Audit suJJests low morale at Department of (nerJy The Audits Division ultimate- ly concluded that the Department of (nerJy never publici]ed its decision to lift restrictions on discountinJ ta[ credits, so few ¿ nance ¿ rms Nnew they could neJotiate such deals. Many recipients of enerJy ta[ credits are Jovernment en- tities or companies that do not owe state ta[es, so the state has allowed them to sell the ta[ cred- its in order to raise cash. Howev- er, lawmaNers wanted to ensure most of the bene¿ t from the ta[ credits went to the enerJy proM- ect owners, so the /eJislature passed a law that required the Department of (nerJy to adopt price reJulations for the sales. By HILLARY BORRUD Capital Bureau SA/(M ² (mployee mo- rale is low and turnover is hiJh at the OreJon Department of (nerJy, accordinJ to interviews conducted by auditors at the Secretary of State¶s Of¿ ce. The enerJy aJency attracted public scrutiny in recent months for its handlinJ of enerJy ta[ incentives. 1ow, the auditors¶ notes released by the Secretary of State¶s Of¿ ce suJJest the d e- partment is also struJJlinJ inter- nally with worNplace problems. Auditors beJan an investi- Jation into the Department of (nerJy¶s handlinJ of renewable enerJy and ef¿ ciency ta[ credits in -une, after someone ¿ led an anonymous complaint throuJh the Secretary of State’s waste, fraud and abuse hotline. The complainant alleJed that enerJy of¿ cials Jave preferen- tial treatment to the consultinJ ¿ rm %lue Tree StrateJies, by allowinJ the ¿ rm to neJotiate deeper discounts on enerJy ta[ credits than allowed under state law. durinJ the - biennium, 5 percent durinJ the -3 biennium and .3 percent from April 3 to April 4. Auditors did not reveal the names of the employees who made the alleJations. However, they wrote that an employee in the enerJy loan proJram said the human resources manaJer want- ed to request ³an aJency-wide performance audit” but would not request it until she left the aJency out of fear of retaliation. The employees told auditors that staff who raised questions were “told to mind their own business and Must do as told,” accordinJ to the auditor’s notes. Donna Archambault, who was the enerJy aJency’s human resources manaJer until the end of this weeN, wrote in an email that the employee’s statement to auditors that Archambault wanted to request an audit was incorrect. “, have never requested an aJency-wide performance audit nor have , ever had any fear of retaliation either under the cur- rent or any past Department of (nerJy director ² for any rea- High turnover, low morale AccordinJ to notes audi- tors tooN in early AuJust, two employees at the Department of (nerJy said the employee turnover rate at the aJency had reached as hiJh as 5 percent and morale has been low durinJ the last ¿ ve years. Rachel :ray, a spoNeswoman for the aJency, said turnover was at 3 percent ACCUWEATHER ® FORECAST FOR ASTORIA Astoria 5-Day Forecast Tonight A shower early; otherwise, mostly cloudy 49° Tuesday Oregon Weather Shown is tomorrow’s weather. Temperatures are tonight’s lows and tomorrow’s highs The Dalles 47/69 Astoria 49/64 Portland 50/65 Corvallis 44/64 Eugene 45/66 Pendleton 47/65 Salem 48/65 Albany 45/64 Ontario 48/67 Bend 32/58 Wednesday Cloudy with a shower Breezy with rain 52° 63° Thursday Friday Continued cloudy with a couple of showers 67° 54° 53° Intervals of clouds and sunshine 69° 54° Almanac Sun and Moon Astoria through Sunday. Temperatures High ........................................... 67° Low ............................................ 55° Normal high ............................... 68° Normal low ................................. 50° Precipitation Yesterday ................................ 0.00" Month to date .......................... 1.56" Normal month to date ............. 0.79" Year to date ........................... 30.67" Normal year to date .............. 38.89" Sunset tonight .................. Sunrise Tuesday .............. Moonrise today ................ Moonset today ................. Regional Cities City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newport North Bend Today Hi Lo W 70 36 c 66 32 c 65 49 c 67 45 c 62 53 sh 71 37 c 75 46 c 61 48 sh 65 48 c National Cities City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Hi 78 74 77 91 82 75 94 46 88 77 83 96 82 83 90 79 84 78 89 77 81 82 69 64 77 Today Lo W 58 s 60 pc 61 s 58 s 67 s 57 s 72 s 35 c 76 pc 53 s 66 s 74 t 70 r 60 s 79 t 54 s 73 s 62 pc 65 pc 58 s 63 s 60 t 58 pc 50 sh 58 s 7:30 p.m. 6:53 a.m. 8:14 a.m. 8:09 p.m. First Full Last New Sep 21 Sep 27 Oct 4 Oct 12 City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Vancouver Yakima Today Hi Lo W 65 45 sh 68 47 c 67 50 sh 69 48 c 67 48 c 63 53 c 63 45 c 66 49 c 70 38 c Tues. Hi Lo W 63 49 c 65 47 c 65 53 c 66 50 c 65 51 c 62 55 c 62 45 sh 64 52 c 68 43 c Tonight's Sky: The stars Sirius and Procyon are in the southeast before sunrise. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Procyon is well to its upper left. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Tomorrow’s Tides Astoria / Port Docks Time High 3:10 a.m. 7.5 ft. 3:19 p.m. 8.0 ft. Time 9:16 a.m. 9:44 p.m. Low 0.6 ft. 0.3 ft. Tomorrow’s National Weather Hi 81 80 80 87 85 80 94 47 88 81 85 89 78 86 88 84 82 84 88 83 84 67 68 63 82 Tues. Lo W 62 s 63 s 58 s 56 pc 67 s 58 s 71 s 37 sh 78 s 57 s 67 s 71 t 67 r 65 pc 79 t 58 s 74 t 64 s 69 s 61 s 63 s 58 t 56 c 51 c 62 s %oth enerJy employees said Anthony %ucNley, the chief ¿ nancial of¿ cer at the enerJy aJency, was a common denomi- nator for problems at the aJency and “the way he orJani]es staff and reportinJ duties would al- low him to hide anythinJ he wants,” accordinJ to the audi- tors’ notes. ,n a written statement, :ray disputed the alleJation that the Department of (nerJy would hide anythinJ. “:e haven’t shied away from acNnowledJinJ and tryinJ to taNe on the many problems here at ODO(, and , reMect the suJJestion and believe it’s mis- Fronts Cold Warm Stationary Showers T-Storms -10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s Rain Flurries Snow Ice Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Forecast high/low temperatures are given for selected cities. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. K lem p Fam ily D en tistry... W e h elp keep fam ilies sm ilin g! Clatsop County crews are brush cuttinJ on Hillcrest /oop and choppinJ in the C o m e and see h o w co m fo rtab le d entistry can really b e... because the moment you enter the state of the art office you are greeted and treated just like you are a part of Dr. Klemp’s family. Everyone is caring and patient and cares K lem p Fa m ily D en tistry o ffers a b ro a d ra n ge o f th era pies a lo n g with a ll yo u r gen era l d en tistry n eed s. about your every concern...” another smiling family Sept. 9, 2015 HA118/A, ,rene M., 6, of ClatsNanie, died in Clats- Nanie. *roul[ Family Mortu- OREGON Sunday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: -7--6 4 p.m.: -6-- 7 p.m.: 8-4-3-8 10 p.m.: 3-4--4 Saturday’s Megabucks: --7--34-4 (stimated MacNpot .4 mil- lion. Saturday’s Powerball: -3- 3-6-3, 3owerball 7 (stimated MacNpot 67 mil- lion. Saturday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 5-5-8-8 4 p.m.: 5-6--7 7 p.m.: 8-8-7-6 10 p.m.: -8-7-7 1006 West Marine Drive, Astoria (503) 468-0116 www.klempfamilydentistry.com %ucNley, who oversees the aJency’s ta[ incentive, enerJy -ewel District this weeN. The southeast end of Columbia %each /ane is closed :ednes- day and Thursday for culvert installation. A detour will be set up via Delaura %each /ane and RidJe Road. For information, contact Clatsop County 3ublic :orNs at --6. ary is in charJe of the arranJe- ments. Sept. 10, 2015 3(T(RSO1, %arbra -o- anne, 77, of Astoria, died in Astoria, HuJhes-Ransom Mortuary in Astoria is in charJe of the arranJements. Friday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: -7-7-6 4 p.m.: -5-5-8 7 p.m.: 6--5-7 10 p.m.: 3-4-4-7 4 WASHINGTON Sunday’s Daily Game: -6- Sunday’s Keno: --- 4-8--3-33-4-43-47-5- 55-5-6-65-6-7-7-73 Sunday’s Match 4: -3- 4-6 Saturday’s Daily Game: 4-7-4 Saturday’s Hit 5: --6- 7-35 (stimated MacNpot 7,. Saturday’s Keno: 6-- -6-7--3-5-3-4-5- 53-5-6-67-75-77-78-7-8 Saturday’s Lotto: 3-- 7-3-4-46 (stimated MacNpot 4 mil- lion. Saturday’s Match 4: -5- 7-4 Friday’s Daily Game: 5-- Friday’s Keno: 4-6-- -6-7---4--3-37- 44-54-56-6-64-66-7-76 Friday’s Match 4: 4-6- -5 Friday’s Mega Millions: 5--3-5-67, MeJa %all 4 (stimated MacNpot 6 mil- lion. Public meetings MONDAY Youngs River Lewis & Clark Water District Board, p.m., 8.6. +iJhway %usiness. Clatsop County Rental Owners Association, 6 p.m. Tuarterly meetinJ, :estlaNe &hinese 5estaurant, 6. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside. Members and nonmembers welcome. &ost, includinJ din- ner and tip, is .. SpeaN- ers &hris DuJan and Terry Turner. Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., special meetinJ, afford- able housinJ study, &ity +all, Duane St. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall Council Cham- bers, %roadway, Seaside. TUESDAY Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, a.m., City Hall, 6 (. *ower St., Cannon %each. Clatsop County Human Services Advisory Council, to p.m., ([chanJe St., Room . Astoria Historic Land- marks Commission, p.m., City Hall, Duane St. Port of Astoria Commis- sion, 6 p.m. reJular meetinJ, old 3ort of¿ ces, *ateway Ave., Suite . Northwest Regional Ed- ucation Service District Board, 6 p.m., 1.(. Ray Circle, Hillsboro. Shoreline Sanitary Dis- trict Board, 7 p.m., *earhart HertiJ Station, 6 :est /aNe /ane, :arrenton. OBITUARY POLICY The Daily Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for Yeterans, a À aJ symbol at no charJe. The deadline for all obituaries is a.m. the business day prior. 2bituaries may be edited for spellinJ, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and upcominJ serYices Zill be published at no charJe. 1otices must be submitted by a.m. the day of publication. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at www.dailyastorian.com/obituaryform, by email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily Astori- The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103- 0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KLEMP F A MILY D ENTISTRY Increasing accountability Deaths W e lo v e new p atients! “This is truly “family dentistry” leadinJ to suJJest that we’re hidinJ issues,” :ray wrote. “:e’ve been upfront about the need to improve and rebuild the aJency, includinJ challenJes liNe our budJet 5-7 budJet reÀ ects percent cut, morale and retention, the performance of our ta[ credit proJrams, and our data and reportinJ.” :ray wrote that it is a “heavy lift to address these issues, but we’re worNinJ on them one by one, and we don’t pretend that problems that developed over years can be solved overniJht ... Our director’s e[pectation is that as an aJency, down to each and every individual employee here at ODO(, we taNe account- ability and responsibility for our decisions and actions, and we ¿ Jure out ways to constantly improve.” Lotteries Under the Sky Tues. Hi Lo W 63 37 c 58 37 c 59 51 c 66 48 c 61 54 sh 58 33 c 67 45 c 59 51 c 64 52 c Buckley a ‘common denominator’ The Daily Astorian Klamath Falls 37/58 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 64° son,” Archambault wrote. “, did talN with Director .aplan about a classi¿ cation review of the po- sitions in the ta[ credit and loan proJrams and that’s currently on HR’s ‘to do’ list.” Columbia %each /ane closed for brush cuttinJ Burns 36/61 Medford 46/67 EO Media Group An audit by the Secretary of State’s Office found employee morale might be a problem at the Department of Energy. Jrant and loan proJrams, said there were a couple reasons for hiJh turnover in the division he manaJes. Some of the positions were temporary, such as Mobs re- lated to federal economic stim- ulus initiatives, and the /eJisla- ture’s decision to phase out the business enerJy ta[ credit meant the division could function with fewer employees. %ucNley wrote in an email that he restruc- tured the division to increase ac- countability, by empowerinJ an accountant to report problems directly to %ucNley. “The ¿ rst chanJe had the enerJy loan proJram accountant position report directly to me in- stead of the loan proJram man- aJer,” %ucNley wrote. “This was done to increase internal con- trols and enhance the inteJrity of the proJram. 3rior to this chanJe accountinJ transactions were lo- cali]ed within the proJram. This resulted in weaN internal con- trols and a hiJher propensity for errors and risN e[posure.” AccordinJ to %ucNley, ac- countants who worNed in the division left because of a fore- casted de¿ cit in the enerJy loan proJram and “lacN of resourc- es.” “:e have actually reduced the potential for issues to be hid- den,” %ucNley wrote. He added, “,t is important to me that staff Nnow they are empowered to raise issues when appropriate and trust that those issues will be addressed.” The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Me- dia Group and Pamplin Media Group. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. 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