STATE/LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
A5
Joseph council gets down to business
Establishes
committees,
hires, looks for
new auditor
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — The Joseph
City Council got down to its
normal business, Thursday,
June 3, following a second
budget hearing and another
executive session to deal
with complaints of alleged
harassment.
The council will hold
what is expected to be its
final budget hearing Thurs-
day, June 10, at 5 p.m., with
another meeting called for
late this month to formally
approve the 2021-22 budget.
Last week’s executive ses-
sion was primarily to explain
procedures for handling com-
plaints between city employ-
ees. Another such session
will be scheduled once for-
mal complaints are submit-
ted to City Hall.
But the highlights of the
regular session were Pro-
Tem Administrator/Recorder
Brock Eckstein making rec-
ommendations — that the
council largely approved —
for getting back on track to
business as it should be. He
noted he was brought in to
help the city between perma-
nent city managers and rec-
ommended things he’s seen
work in other cities.
Committee assignments
“Part of this plan of action
is, madam mayor, I recom-
mend setting committees that
would consist of two coun-
cilors and two citizens and
whatever lead or director
is in charge of that specific
area,” Eckstein said address-
ing Mayor Belinda Buswell.
“The main effort of this is to
get the council more involved
with what is going in the city
because they haven’t gotten a
lot of information.”
Eckstein said the com-
mittees would help coun-
cilors learn more about city
operations and become more
closely involved with them.
“For many years, there’s
been a big disconnect
between City Hall and City
Council,” he said. “This has
caused a lot of frustration
on everyone’s behalf. These
committees are not where
councilors show up and dic-
tate to directors. They show
up and advise and be present
for issues that departments
are having and I’ll help offer
solutions that might alleviate
problems at that level.”
He said the committees
would report to the coun-
cil and urged councilors to
trust their colleagues that the
proper solutions are being
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Joseph city Administrator/Recorder Pro-Tem Brock Eckstein, left, speaks as Mayor Belinda
Buswell and Councilwoman Kathy Bingham listen Thursday, June 3, 2021, during a regular
meeting of the council. Eckstein assured the public that he has no documented complaints of
harassment by members of the City Council and then moved on to normal city business.
arrived at. He also suggested
rotating membership on the
committees every six months
to a year.
“It’s also my recom-
mendation that councilors
don’t get too comfortable in
their positions,” he said, “so
you can get used to every
city function and learn how
everything does operate.”
Buswell
immediately
called for volunteers for var-
ious committees. They will
be:
• The Administrative
Committee:
Councilors
Kirsten Rohla and Stephen
Bartlow, will work with Eck-
stein. He said the committee
members would sign every
single check that is writ-
ten from city coffers to keep
close tabs on city spending
and its bank accounts, as well
as assisting with missing pol-
icies and procedures.
• The Public Works Com-
mittee: Buswell and Coun-
cilor Kathy Bingham will
work with Public Works
Director Levi Tickner.
• Parks & Recreation/
Main Street Committee:
Councilors Lisa Collier and
Tammy Jones will work with
Parks & Rec/Main Street
Director Dennis Welch.
• The Public Safety Com-
mittee: Councilors Bing-
ham and Matt Soots will
work with Fire Chief Jef-
frey Wecks and an ordinance
enforcement officer when
that position is filled.
Each committee is expect-
ing to include two volunteer
residents. Eckstein addressed
the audience of more than
40 people, seeking the
volunteers.
He said he recalled his
mother saying, “If you’re not
part of the solution, you’re
part of the problems. So if
any of you are interested in
any of these committees, I’d
encourage you to contact
City Hall and fill out a com-
mittee application and help
come up with some solutions
that’ll prevent some of these
things from happening in the
future.”
Eckstein also urged bol-
stering the city’s workforce.
“I’ve also identified a
need for some more employ-
ees,” he said, recommend-
ing another utility worker for
Public Works and a billing
worker for City Hall. He rec-
ommended councilors and
department heads make up
the hiring committees for the
new positions.
Books ‘out of whack’
Eckstein also recom-
mended the council take bids
on a new auditor for the city.
“There’s been some issues
with past budgets. I spent
five hours at the CPA office
this morning — and some
of these budgets go back
10 years. There’s been a lot
of mistakes that have led to
some financial difficulties,”
he said. “I think you guys
did a fantastic street proj-
ect. Your streets look amaz-
ing for a city this size. You
couldn’t afford it. That’s evi-
dent by the fact that we’re
looking at moving money
from the sewer and water
fund to make a $106,000
loan payment.”
He said from looking at
the city’s books, they’re full
of discrepancies.
“I’m kind of trained to
see that kind of stuff, but in
my opinion, a professional
auditor should’ve caught
some of this stuff a long
time ago,” he said. “We’re
here today because this path
wasn’t corrected a long time
ago. You’ve had such a high
turnover of employees and
administrators, one, because I
think they are frustrated with
these books because they’re
out of whack and, with the
other issues at hand, some
of them haven’t even had
a proper chance to address
them. They haven’t even
had proper accounting soft-
ware. I spent five hours a day
developing a cash flow pro-
cess with Excel spreadsheet.
Whereas if we’d had Caselle
installed, it’s a one-minute
report.”
He emphasized that the
problems with the books
aren’t new.
“It’s not just recent; it
goes a long way back,” he
said. “It’s something that was
out of line 10 years ago and
it gets piled on, and it gets to
where we are today.”
Eckstein said the pos-
sibility of changing audi-
tors should be considered
regularly.
“It’s a very good prac-
tice to, once every three
years, review your attorney,
your engineering firm, your
auditors and consultants,”
he said. “It’s not an insult
against them, it’s just good
practice to make sure you’re
getting the best bang for your
buck.”
Other matters
In other matters, the
council:
• Heard an update from
Brad Baird, of Anderson
Perry Engineers, on the city’s
projects for paving, its water
system and sewer plant.
• Approved a request by
the Joseph Chamber of Com-
merce for a street closure for
Aug. 28 for the 32nd annual
Wallowa Mountain Cruise
car show. It will include local
food vendors, church groups,
4-H & FFA.
• Approved a request by
the Joseph Chamber of Com-
merce for a free concert by
a local band either Aug. 23
or 24 — not both days — to
be held in conjunction with
Bicycle Rides Northwest,
which is expecting about 300
participants.
• Agreed to street clo-
sures for Chief Joseph Days,
which will be July 27-Aug.
1. In particular, the closures
will be July 30 for the Kid-
die Parade and July 31 for the
Main Parade.
• Heard a report from
Rohla on the Tech Commit-
tee that progress is being
made both on the city’s web-
site and the sound equipment
that will air and record city
meetings.
• Heard a report from Col-
lier that the Main Street Com-
mittee is planning a “walk-
thru” downtown to determine
needs there.
State closes in on 70% vaccination goal
June 21 set as
target date
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Nearly all
COVID-19
restrictions
could be lifted in as early as
just over two weeks, Gov.
Kate Brown said Friday,
June 4.
The state, as of Friday,
was about 127,000 adults
short of the goal of getting at
least one shot of vaccine into
70% of eligible residents.
Once the state crosses the
threshold, Brown said she
would lift masking, business
capacity, event size, social
distance and other limits that
Oregonians have dealt with
for more than a year.
“We can fully reopen —
we can all look forward to
that,” she said.
Local health officials
would then take over the
daily decision-making and
operations in counties from
the Oregon Health Authority.
Brown said even very
large events, such as the
Pendleton Round-Up in Sep-
tember, would be good to go
once the state hits its target
vaccination rate.
Oregon’s statewide mark
stood at 66.8% on Monday.
OHA Director Pat Allen said
that if the current pace con-
tinues, the mark would be hit
about June 21.
“This is not a slam dunk,”
Allen said.
Allen said that the June
30 deadline set earlier in the
year by the governor was
well within reach.
“It will take a lot of work
by a lot of people to get it
done,” Allen said.
Lifting restrictions would
include:
• Ending the risk level
system for counties of lower,
moderate, high and extreme.
• Ending a state require-
ment for masks and face
coverings in almost all set-
tings. Exceptions would
be airports, public tran-
sit and health care settings
that follow federal agency
guidelines.
• End requirements for
individuals to show vacci-
nation verification in public
venues and businesses.
• Allow K-12 students to
attend school in-person, full
time, five days per week.
K-12 guidance is being
revised to support schools in
safely delivering in-person
instruction throughout the
school day.
Current health and safety
standards, including indoor
mask requirements, will
remain in place in work-
places, schools and child
care settings. Colleges and
universities can make their
own decisions on proto-
cols after considering guid-
ance from the federal Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Brown said the move
would not mean the pan-
demic was over in Oregon.
She will re-examine whether
or not to lift her emergency
order that gave her a wide
latitude on public health
decisions.
“The pandemic will not
be over,” Brown said.
To try to increase the
vaccination rate toward the
goal, many pharmacies will
extend hours to reach out
to more people who want
shots.
“Some people are not
vaccine resistant, but vac-
cine inconvenienced,” Allen
said.
Brown also reiterated
plans to give away $1 mil-
lion to a vaccinated Orego-
nian, along with $10,000 to
a vaccinated person in each
of the 36 counties. Schol-
arships worth $100,000 are
also being offered to lucky
vaccinated youth.
Brown and OHA officials
said it was time to push past
the current levels of inocu-
lation as medical evidence
and state statistics show the
impact of the virus has sep-
arated residents into two
groups with very different
likely futures.
Those with vaccination
are almost completely free
of infections, severe illness
and death.
But the pandemic is still
“a shadow” across the state
for those who are not inoc-
ulated. The OHA said nine
out of 10 deaths are currently
among people who have no
record of vaccination.
Children, immunocom-
promised and those who
have not been able to get
vaccinated must still be con-
sidered when communities
decide what steps to take.
“There are still Orego-
nians who need to take extra
precautions to feel and stay
safe,” Brown said.
Those battling cancer,
immunocompromised Ore-
gonians and organ donors
were among those still need-
ing protection, to name a
few. There are also many
Oregon kids who are not yet
eligible for a vaccine.
“So, it will remain incred-
ibly important for Orego-
nians to continue making
smart choices,” Brown said.
The OHA will continue to
monitor the global pandemic
and provide assistance and
resources, but will increas-
ingly advise local officials
on measures to take.
The OHA and the CDC
are expected to issue more
guidance in coming days as
the state nears the 70% goal.
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Representative Cliff Bentz, left, speaks during a meeting
that included Wallowa and Union county commissioners
Monday, June 7, 2021, in Island City.
Bentz meets
with local
elected leaders
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ISLAND CITY —
Wallowa and Union
county
commission-
ers, educators and busi-
ness owners heard about
the inner workings of
Washington, D.C., from
2nd Congressional Dis-
trict Rep. Cliff Bentz on
Monday, June 7, in Island
City, and had an opportu-
nity to share thoughts and
concerns on a range of
topics with the freshman
congressman.
Before fielding ques-
tions from the roughly
15 individuals in atten-
dance — which included
Wallowa County Com-
missioners John Hillock
and Todd Nash — Bentz,
who sits on both the
Committee on Natural
Resources and the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary,
shared some of his expe-
rience from the first five
months of his first term in
office. He went into how
the committees in Con-
gress work — including
some of what his role in
the NRC entails — dis-
cussed the fickle nature
of bipartisanship when
it comes to issues, and
said that even though
representatives
make
$174,000 when they first
enter Congress, that is
largely whittled away
by taxes and Washing-
ton, D.C., rent, noting his
rent in the city is $3,400
per month. He also dis-
cussed the drought in the
West, noting that “72 mil-
lion” Americans would
be impacted this year by
the dry conditions, some
more than others.
He then fielded ques-
tions and comments on
education, taxes, the
River Democracy Act,
and what can be done
about the current labor
shortage, with the nation
having millions of job
openings but not enough
citizens willing to fill the
positions.
Hillock discussed Ore-
gon cap-and-trade policy,
and stated a concern that
very few members of the
current state government
are paying attention to
the issue.
“There’s no senators,
no representatives, vir-
tually nobody is partici-
pating in the rule making,
other than me and one
other commissioner, and
a city official in the Port-
land area,” he said.
“What is your thought
on how this is going to
roll out? This is a bil-
lion-dollar thing, bigger
than anything going on in
the Legislature this year,
and there isn’t one pol-
itician keeping track of
what’s going on besides
two
commissioners.
What’s your thought on
that?”
Bentz has a history
with cap-and-trade bills
in Oregon, as he was part
of the Republican group
that walked out in 2019
to stop a vote on the CAT
bill.
“We stopped the bill,
and then they shipped
everything to the agen-
cies, and Kate Brown said
you shall start imposing
cap and trade through
agency fiat,” Bentz said.
“That seemed to mean
that into court you go to
try and show she is over-
reaching. I’m really inter-
ested to see where the
court proceedings are to
stop her from inappropri-
ately exercising power.”
Hillock said he thinks
“it’s all getting pushed
under the carpet.”
“You want to talk
about government taking
control, institute a cap-
and-trade system,” Bentz
said.
Bentz said there are
several factors contribut-
ing to the labor shortage
nationwide.
“No doubt, the amount
of money being paid in
addition to normal unem-
ployment benefits is a
problem,” he said. “The
baby boomers are quit-
ting, and that is creat-
ing a terrific vacuum.
The other thing is the
(high) number of people
who have simply left the
workforce.”
Nash, following a
point made earlier by
Union County Commis-
sioner Donna Bever-
age on the River Democ-
racy Act, said about 400
miles in Wallowa County
would be given a Wild
and Scenic designation,
on top of 300 miles that
already have limited
access.
“Among them are
ephemeral and intermit-
tent streams, some of
them go from federal to
private and back to fed-
eral again,” he said.
“It’s crazy what they’re
proposing.”
Nash added a series of
conditions, including an
increase in feed prices,
are causing challenges
for the cattle industry.
“Between that and the
drought, hay prices look-
ing like they are going to
go through the roof, it’s
about as critical a time as
we have ever seen with
cattle,” he said.
Nash also said a cul-
ture change needs to hap-
pen to improve the tim-
ber industry. He noted as
an example that the cur-
rent Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest timber
plan calls for 140 million
board feet to be harvested
annually, but local efforts
are happy with 5 million.
“That doesn’t even
keep up with the attrition
rate of trees dying,” he
told the congressman.
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