A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Unfunded
mandates show
state’s lack of
leadership
I
n politics, it’s easy to pass
the buck — or the blame —
through the age-old practice
of unfunded mandates.
It’s the practice where one
government orders an agency
or a lesser governmental entity
to take a speci¿ c action to ¿ x
a problem, but doesn’t supply
the money to make it happen.
The mandate makes the
agency or the community ¿ x
the problem out of their own
budgets, which is often nearly
impossible to accomplish
without raising taxes, cutting
services or both.
Even more, this practice
usually rears its head at
election time to give voters
the idea that leadership is
truly addressing problems
rather than letting them slide.
But the fact that those leaders
have to issue a mandate in the
¿ rst place shows the problem
did slide. And sometimes,
those same state leaders
avoid transparency by using
mandates as a scare tactic
to get legislative or voter
approval for unpopular or
controversial legislation that
they support.
That’s the case currently
with two state mandates in the
past three weeks.
And to no surprise, the
mandates surfaced as Gov.
Kate Brown endorsed Measure
97, the highly controversial
ballot measure that would
create a 2.5 percent tax for
some corporations on gross
sales of more than $25 million,
rather than taxing those
corporations on their on the
pro¿ ts as now is the case.
Supporters of the measure
say it would raise an additional
$3 billion and help Oregon ¿ x
long-standing problems and
avoid a looming $1.4 billion
de¿ cit. Supporters also say the
tax revenue would be spent
only on schools, seniors and
health care. Opponents point
out the regressive nature of
the tax and say corporations
would simply pass the tax
on to customers who can
afford it least. The measure,
they say, would curb private
sector growth while boosting
public sector hiring. They also
point out that lawyers for the
Legislature say tax dollars
raised by Measure 97 could
be spent however lawmakers
please. In her endorsement,
though, Brown said she would
make sure the money goes to
those areas.
The mandates
The ¿ rst mandate came in
early August when the state
Treasury announced that the
bill for schools, cities, state
agencies and other public
employers in Oregon will
rise by $885 million next
biennium to fund the state’s
public employee pension
system. The $885 million is
much higher than was forecast
and represents a 44 percent
increase from what public
employees are currently
paying into the pension plan to
support it.
Next came an order from
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
the Oregon Board of Education
after it adopted a new, fast-
tracked rule at the behest of
the governor that requires
testing for lead and radon in
schools, public disclosure
of problems that are found
and the elimination of each
problem when discovered.
School districts are required
by the mandate to have a
preliminary plan in place by
October and a ¿ nished plan
by January. While parents
and educators all agree that
¿ xing those problems needs
to happen and happen quickly,
the order came without a
funding mechanism in place.
The state School Boards
Association predicts the
mandate could cost districts
hundreds of millions of dollars
statewide. Fortunately, districts
on the North Coast have been
proactive and only a handful of
problems have surfaced so far.
Public schools are also
facing another challenge
that was mandated by the
Legislature in 2007. It requires
they provide a minimum
of 150 minutes of physical
education instruction per
week for kindergarten through
¿ fth grade and 225 minutes
for sixth through eight
grade. Schools must meet
the standard by 2017, but
less than 10 percent of 1,080
public schools with some or all
grades K-8 are in compliance.
School advocacy groups are
asking lawmakers to either
push back the 2017 deadline or
to allow a phase-in. Funding
for additional P E teachers
is one of the reasons the
advocacy groups have cited for
the poor compliance rate.
Leadership and reforms
Real leadership is needed
in addressing each of these
problems.
PERS in its present form
simply isn’t sustainable,
and there are a number of
reform options available.
The governor and legislators,
however, have been reluctant
to attack the problem head
on. Lead in drinking water at
schools is curable, and the fact
that there was no statewide
requirement for even testing
until 2016 says the state Board
of Education and those who
oversee the board from the
governor’s of¿ ce were asleep
at the wheel. The problem of
physical education for children
in K-8 is even more curable
with innovation and creativity
at the local level and the proper
leadership and focus at the state
level.
Each of those problems have
their own individual solutions,
and state leaders, especially
those at the top, should be just
that. They should be visible to
the public and transparent with
their motives and actions instead
of using unfunded mandates
as their method of operation.
And importantly, they should
quit looking for the easy cure-
all ¿ xes for problems the state
faces. They should know from
experience that easy ¿ xes aren’t
always the right ¿ xes.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Why I will vote for
Sheriff Palmer’s
re-election
To the Editor:
I will vote for Sheriff Glenn
Palmer because I believe that he
would not pull a driver over on a
cold, snowy and dark December
night because the driver was trying
to avoid poorly lit and open trench-
es on a construction project.
I believe that Sheriff Palmer
would be sure there was proba-
ble cause for the traf¿ c stop that
he would understand the driver’s
inability to perform ¿ eld sobriety
testing because of physical, not al-
cohol, related problems with his
balance and gait that he would not
call the driver “arrogant” simply
because he tried to help him with
the spelling of the names of his
medications that he would have of-
fered the driver assistance under the
road conditions to get to his drive-
way 300 yards away rather than ar-
resting him.
And last, but not least, I believe
that Sheriff Palmer would not have
boasted in his church the following
morning about “getting the Doc last
night.”
Obviously his opponent is ex-
cluded in my mind from any of the
above by virtue of his past perfor-
mance.
I believe that Sheriff Palmer is
a much better equipped candidate
to protect and represent the people
of Grant County in the upcoming
election.
Joseph Intile, MD
Mt. Vernon
Join us in making
public lands healthier
To the Editor:
Eastern Oregon has received
more than its fair share of neg-
ative press during the past year.
This includes the Oregonian series
“Burned,” which recounts the 2015
Canyon Creek ¿ re. Well intended,
this series nevertheless misrep-
resents key aspects about how the
¿ re was handled by minimi]ing the
larger, region-wide pull on ¿ re¿ ght-
ing resources and ignoring the real,
practical decision-making context
in which sound judgment and sol-
id effort in a complex and dynamic
situation can go sideways in a heart-
beat.
Unfortunately, the thrust of the
Oregonian article suggests that
À awed suppression tactics were
responsible for the disaster, which
implies that ¿ xing À awed suppres-
sion tactics will avoid another di-
saster. 1ot so. What requires ¿ xing
is forest conditions across the Blue
Mountains.
It has taken decades of past
management practices, informed
by a variety of social interests and
values, to create the ha]ardous con-
ditions that preceded the Canyon
Creek ¿ re. And it will take decades
more to restore the Malheur Na-
tional Forest to a resilient condition
that better withstands wild¿ re and
other natural disturbances. In many
places, this means thoughtful tim-
ber harvest or fuels reduction treat-
ments followed by prescribed ¿ re.
Indeed, a Fuels Treatment Ef-
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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fectiveness Assessment prepared by
the Forest Service after the Canyon
Creek ¿ re indicates that where these
treatments occurred pre-¿ re, the
wild¿ re functioned in a more natu-
ral way by dropping to the ground,
consuming small fuels and sparing
large trees. However, where these
treatments did not occur in tandem
and weather conditions became so
hot, dry and windy that literally
nothing could have stopped the ¿ re,
the results of the Canyon Creek ¿ re
were indeed tragic.
These facts tell us the pace and
scale of science-based, large land-
scape forest work across the Blue
Mountains must increase consider-
ably. The Malheur National Forest,
Blue Mountains Forest Partners
and other community members are
undertaking this effort. We invite
you to join us in making our pub-
lic lands healthier and communities
stronger.
Mark Webb
Executive Director, Blue
Mountains Forest Partners
Is Palmer’s professional
judgment reckless
and incompetent?
To the Editor:
A Grant County deputy appoint-
ed by Sheriff Glenn Palmer was
found guilty of no less than three
felonies by a Grant County jury of
his peers — not some Portland jury.
Roy Richard Peterson was convict-
ed of ¿ rst-degree theft, ¿ rst-degree
aggravated theft and possession
of a stolen vehicle involving gov-
ernment money and government
equipment of the Monument Rural
Fire District. According to an Aug.
26 Blue Mountain Eagle article,
the prosecutor described Peterson
as using the ¿ re district as “his per-
sonal piggy bank.”
According to the same article,
Palmer told the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry that Peterson
obtained the equipment “legally
and lawfully through ODF.” A
Grant County jury of Peterson’s
peers reached the completely
opposite decision and convicted
him of three felonies. Does this
reveal that Palmer is incompe-
tent regarding his professional
judgment?
According to the same article,
Palmer also said that there was
no probable cause that a crime
had been committed by Peter-
son. A Grant County jury of Pe-
terson’s peers reached the com-
pletely opposite decision and
convicted him of three felonies.
Does this disclose that Palmer’s
professional judgment is reck-
less?
Why is Palmer’s profession-
al judgment about Peterson the
complete opposite of a Grant
County jury of his peers? Ac-
cording to an Aug. 20 Orego-
nian article, “Palmer’s cellphone
records dating back to November
show he talked to Peterson more
than anyone.” Is Peterson a friend
of Palmer?
Is Sheriff Palmer’s professional
judgment reckless and incompe-
tent?
Brian McDonough
Bennington, New Hampshire
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Kerr’s letter incoherent
and offensive
To the Editor:
The only thing clear in Judy
Kerr’s Aug. 24 letter to the edi-
tor is that she does not appreciate
the Oregonian’s best investigative
journalist examining the activities
of the sheriff of Grant County. The
rest of her letter is incoherent, con-
tains vague innuendo and is offen-
sive to those of us that think it is
time for a change in the sheriff’s
of¿ ce.
As examples of incoherence
and innuendo, she indicates “one
must follow the money,” but in-
cludes no indication about what
money she references, where it
might lead or who it might con-
nect. She indicates that the Ore-
gonian “... uses the tools of tyrants
to pervert the plain meaning of
words,” but doesn’t include the
words she has a problem with.
She indicates her concern that the
Public Forest Commission would
be disbanded — but it is unclear
how that relates to the Oregonian’s
recent articles or the election of a
new sheriff. She brings up the “il-
legal destruction” of political signs
— but makes it very clear that she
is only concerned about Sheriff
Palmer’s signs (I seriously doubt
the Oregonian or its reporter are
out there destroying signs).
But the biggest issue I have is
her only slightly veiled reference
to those of us with a different opin-
ion — those that don’t support the
current sheriff as “those with in-
tellectual disabilities” and “those
who only understand from their
limited level of perception.”
That is downright insulting to
a large proportion (possibly the
majority) of the citi]ens of Grant
County.
The media is often referenced
as the fourth branch of power in the
United States. So, why should it be
a surprise when a reporter seeks in-
formation from a public servant in
the process of doing their job?
I disagree with Ms. Kerr — I
think /es =ait] and the Oregonian
are doing a service to the county,
state and anyone who respects facts,
truth and openness. I appreciate
Les’ dedication to his profession,
his professionalism and his cour-
age. And, as an aside, I also think
Todd McKinley would be a better
choice for sheriff in November.
Jim Hammett
John Day
New walkway made
fairgrounds much
more enjoyable
To the Editor:
The construction of the walkway
at the Grant County Fairgrounds
was well done, and I truly appreci-
ate everyone involved with its con-
struction.
As a handicapped person, I ride
on a motori]ed wheelchair. As I
rode on the walkway, I thought
how dif¿ cult it was last year to ride
through the rocks.
This walkway made the fair-
grounds much more enjoyable.
Joan Metlock
John Day
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