The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2011
Page 5
Recall efforts underway, Burch and Nicks respond in interview
From page 1
out using the funds verifica-
tions process. (Editor’s Note:
Ordinance 854 on city adminis-
trator’s duties and responsibili-
ties gives the interim city ad-
ministrator the authority to initi-
ate investigations and run all
city business. Only hiring and
firing of personnel is excluded.)
2. What is the consider-
able money Haack cost the
city?
Burch – $75,000 for attorney
fees under the Vernonia Police
Department budget line items
for professional fees.
3. What facts did Sharon
Bernal not verify?
Burch – She said Mike Kay
and I are friends and I made
the motion to cancel Bill
Haack’s contract because it
was about a friend. I’m friendly
towards all police, fire, city per-
sonnel, etc. but that doesn’t
mean they are my personal
friends.
4. How do you know
Bernal called the press in?
Burch – I guess I don’t know,
but she was the petitioner on
the recall and organized the
rally they (the press) showed
up at and is the “Big Mouth”.
5. Where did you get the
‘tort claim filed’ information?
Burch – I was led to believe
that by the city attorneys and
Jim Johnson. (Editor’s Note:
Jim Johnson denys saying a
tort claim had been filed. As of
July 18, no tort claims have
been filed against the city.)
6. Who has threatened you
with a Federal lawsuit?
Burch – The city attorneys
and Jim Johnson fully expect it
to go to the federal level.
7. Can you explain what
you mean by dishonesty?
Burch – When I repeatedly
requested an executive ses-
sion, Haack said, “No, there is
nothing to discuss,” but in real-
ity there was a lot of sensitive
information that was needed to
make informed decisions. (Edi-
tor’s Note: Though Haack de-
clined to hold an executive ses-
sion in January, he offered to
meet individually with new
councilors to bring them up to
speed on employee issues.)
8. What are you trying to
protect the citizens of Ver-
nonia from?
Burch – Further money be-
ing spent on this whole deba-
cle?
9. What’s the debacle?
Burch – More investigations
or possible litigation.
10. How are you protect-
ing them?
Burch – By participating in
the hiring of a qualified city ad-
ministrator for Vernonia.
11. How can you say you
insist on transparency when
you have also said you need
to have private meeting out-
side council, like during the
budget process?
Burch – Transparency is not
making decisions in secret
meetings. So-called “coffee
house meetings” are about ed-
ucating myself on the process
and requesting executive ses-
sions, the secret meetings, is to
be informed on personnel is-
sues.
Sharon Bernal’s response to
Burch’s
justification
was,
“When she said there has been
too much dysfunction, I have
not seen much dysfunction ‘til
she came into office. It would
be nice if Willow would explain
why at three meetings [when] I
directly asked what her issues
were with Bill Haack that the
public needed to know and she
never answered. When I read
her statement now, there is still
no specific information. I did
not call the news crews. All I
have done is what our govern-
ment gave every one of us the
ability to do – take the steps to
recall a public official when we
feel they are not serving the
community. We are taking the
legal, professional and proper
steps to do the recall.”
Marilyn Nicks justification
letter gave the following rea-
sons for not resigning, “I
haven’t seen the signatures or
their validity. Does eight per-
cent of the population consti-
tute ‘the community as a
whole’. Reasonable people
don’t yell, create chaos, disrupt
public meetings, and slander
public officials. I have seen in-
appropriate city administrator
behavior such as refusing
Council directives, withholding
documents and vital informa-
tion from Council, deliberate
deception, and putting the city
at risk. In good conscience I
couldn’t just hire the Interim
City Administrator, in spite of
uninformed public opinion
“The Interim wouldn’t com-
mit to the position when asked,
therefore I voted for the League
of Oregon Cities process. I
made many efforts to improve
communication. The Interim
City Administrator canceled my
appointments and withdrew
from mediation I initiated with a
neutral source.
“I support the Senior Center,
Food Bank, Health Clinic,
school project, economic de-
velopment and livability.
“I don’t support out of control
spending, unsustainable proj-
ects and backroom deals.
“I deplore the hype and hys-
teria that’s brought division and
made city business difficult.
“At great personal cost and
no personal profit, I made deci-
sions that were intended to pro-
mote the best interests of Ver-
nonia as well as protecting its
citizens and the integrity of
their government.
“Vote NO!”
1. a. What council direc-
tive did Haack refuse? b.
what documents were with-
held? c. What vital informa-
tion?
Nicks – a. Haack refused
when we asked for an execu-
tive session to be brought up to
speed on an employee issue.
b. The Brown/Caldwell summa-
ry on the waste water treatment
project. c. A couple of things;
waste water project and em-
ployee issue stuff. (Editor’s
Note: Though Haack declined
to hold an executive session in
January, he did offer to meet in-
dividually with new councilors
to bring them up to speed on
employee issues.)
2. What is the public unin-
formed about, regarding the
city administrator hiring?
Nicks – The amount of effort
I made to improve communica-
tions with Haack. I made ap-
pointments with him but it took
him three months to sit down
with me.
3. What does “Interim
wouldn’t commit to position
when asked” mean?
Nicks – I specifically asked
Haack if he was interested in
the city administrator job and
he would not commit. This was
before the League of Oregon
Cities was brought in.
4. How many appoint-
ments with you did Haack
cancel and why?
Nicks – It was several, but I
only have documentation of
one because not all my re-
quests were done via email.
5. a. Had you entered into
a mediation agreement and
was a meeting scheduled? b.
Had Haack agreed to medi-
ate? c. If so, when did he
withdraw?
Nicks – a. and c. At council
meeting, Haack was going to
contact several mediators and
set it up and Bill and I and a cit-
izen were to determine the
scope of the mediation. Haack
emailed me that Jim Johnson
would contact me directly then
he withdrew. b. By inference in
the above, he agreed to medi-
ate. (Editor’s Note: Jim John-
son said he interviewed Haack,
City Recorder Joann Glass and
all five council members on
communications, and prepared
a memo sent to council in May
on steps to resolve those is-
sues. This was in place of me-
diation.)
6. What out-of-control
spending do you mean when
you say you don’t support it?
Nicks – $10 million for a
waste water treatment mem-
brane system and increased
project manager costs and the
level of spending from the sew-
er fund is not sustainable over
the next two years. (Editor’s
Note: These are not decisions
made by Haack, but rather
changes that would need to be
approved by the council)
7. What back room deals?
Nicks – I want to be sure to
keep what’s happening with
city business in the open and
with collaboration of citizens.
Bernal’s response to Nicks
justification, “I’ve talked about
the citizens not being informed
right up to July 12 when the
justifications were turned in
and there is still no explanation,
just open-ended statements.
There is a false statement here
when Nicks said Haack with-
drew from mediation – I went
See Recall on page 20