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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, May 2, 2012 Page 5 Candidates for County Commission Position 3 give their views From page 1 sources. There will be things we have to cut because we can’t afford them. For instance, the sheriff’s office depends, for 2/3 ($2 million) of the jail budg- et, on jail bed rental and that’s not a stable funding base. Hyde – We need to look at common services provided by other entities, for example the last 5-6 years of emergency management, and collectively come together to allow more strategic use of money avail- able. We’ve been able to in- crease our capacity with no ex- tra money. So, we’ll have to fig- ure out how to provide core services with less money. A lot is mandated so we have to go back to the State if they cut money from mandated servic- es. I think the only time you have substantive change is when you have catastrophic change and I think we’re there. Maygra – I think in order to keep services in place we need to start pay cuts at the top. As commissioner I would expect to take a pay cut before non- salaried. The natural resource depletion fee has not been fully enforced and has not been up- dated since 1996. That would go straight to the Road Depart- ment. Ward – It doesn’t take a lot of money to run my business. At the county level, we need to use money for the necessary services, not things like a new entrance. The city should not be able to set more restrictive rules than the county or state can. 2. Should county commis- sioners continue to assist department heads or should they hire middle managers? Gibson – I’m not sure we can even afford full-time county commis- sioners. W e Jim Gibson should review that through the Home Rule Charter. We need to look at all the alternatives from the top down and if I cut myself out of a paycheck, so be it. We been putting band-aids on for too long. Hyde – We don’t have the lux- ury of middle managers with the current budgetary con- straints. Maygra – I don’t think we need middle managers on salary, too. Ward – I think commissioners should direct department head without middle managers. It’s more efficient and allows for more accountability for money spent. 3. What do you consider to be the commissioners’ du- ties and responsibilities? Gibson – Overall policy setting county wide to address how the county is going to function. There are statutory and admin- istrative rules that have to be followed, like on land use deci- sion appeals. Commissioners set ordinances and then need to enforce them, such as the need to enforce the collection of depletion fees. Hyde – There are quite a few. First and f o r e - most, to see to it that we can de- Tony Hyde liver both the mandated services and the rest. I have a list of 47 services the county is responsible to provide, from aging/senior services to the Extension Ser- vice. We have to advocate for all the needs of everybody in the county. Maygra – To be the administra- tive body for the entire county. Also, I think commissioners need to be more directly asso- ciated with citizens. They should help anybody who comes in to see them, rather than passing on the issue. They should go out of their way to help people and mitigate any problems. Ward – The commissioners re- sponsibility is to operate what goes on in the county; roads, schools, and small business. They should be more hands-on and they need to know in-depth what they are voting on. 4. Do you think the incum- bents are meeting those re- sponsibilities? Gibson – I think they’ve been trying really hard, but the open- ness side somewhat concerns me. There always appears to be deals being done before we find out about them. I think they work very hard trying to build a good county. Hyde – I most certainly do. We have a really good team right now with a good relationship. Our knowledge bases give us good background. We don’t al- ways agree but we work well together. Maygra – No, I don’t. On the hos- p i t a l problem, in 2010 the peo- ple voted by 73% Tammy Maygra to stop the 38¢ per 1,000 permanent tax and credit the money back to taxpayers. The health district took it to court and had it deemed illegal. The commis- sioners did not take legal action to defend the measure or sup- port the 73% majority. They did not listen, people want their money back. If they don’t listen to a 73% majority, why would they listen to you? Ward – No, I d o n ’ t t h i n k they are. Because w h e n some- one asks t h e m Reginald Ward a b o u t something, they voted on they can't answer. If you don’t know the answer, you get back to them. Basically, earn your money. 5. What improvements or changes would you like to see in county government? Gibson – I would like, if elect- ed, to create a more open at- mosphere and be much more open and responsive to people and their concerns. We have the technological ability to be more open, like posting county See More on page 6