Well I have to say that I am extremely disappointed in the City Council. During the Council Workshop last week the general feeling among many of the council was that there is no need for priorities. Councilmember Amy Ockerlander said this "I don’t think our job as a government is to identify one priority – it is to provide our core services and also take into account what our citizens have told us. Having a list of priorities isn’t the best way to do it."
When told that the priorities from the survey were safe city, transportation and vibrant business, Councilmember Walker said she was "quite shocked we’re using priorities in that order and basing the amount of resources to those priorities."
There was talk about how it was important to have a "small town feel" in Duvall but that Police services were not that important.
The Police Department is applying for a grant which would allow the city to get an additional Police Officer completely paid for by the federal government for 3 years with the caveat that the city pays for the Officer on year 4. Essentially we are getting an officer for 1/4 the price for 4 years. Councilmember Walker said “There hasn’t really been a demonstrated need that we need an extra officer.”
Chief Merryman reminded the Council that 2 teens have died from Heroin related deaths in Duvall in the last month. They are very busy and need the help.
Councilmember Brudnicki lobbied for funding for additional City Hall staff and felt that spending money on additional Police Officers would detract from the money available to put into community events that give Duvall its small town feel.
I am flabbergasted that this is the best we have to offer the citizens of Duvall. I don't know anywhere else in the work force where this type of disregard for priorities would be acceptable. I would expect to be fired if I approached my work with this level of incompetence.
It is time to get more involved and to let our elected officials know that this type of approach to governing is completely unacceptable and we are going to hold then accountable for their actions and their inability to take the appropriate actions.
Now I know you are truly exagerating. I don't believe that councilmember Okerlander doesn't understand that a list of "core services" is a list of priorities. And I don't believe that the council would seriously consider defunding police. Sorry, Thomas, not believable.
ReplyDeleteDoug
You don't sound right in the head to me, duck hunter.
ReplyDeleteDoug,
ReplyDeleteThat is why I was so disgusted by this. I have the recording of the meeting and I would suggest you get a copy and listen for yourself. Copies are available at city hall for 50 cents.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteWhats with the duck hunter reference? Care to explain?
For anyone who is not a "believer:"
ReplyDeleteYou're off in la-la land. This kind of stuff is happening all the time on the City Council. I'd say go listen to the recordings yourself - or, better yet, go see it in person - but I doubt you're the kind of person who would do that.
Sounds to me like you're a "believer" as in "supporter" of people like Ockerlander, Brudnicki and Walker, and you would rather not hear the truth about what they're saying in Council.
"De-fund police?" you ask with disbelief.
Watch and see. It has been advocated for years.
Wake up before its too late.
Thomas - I'm hoping Doug and "Anonymous" are not representative of the way the town as a whole thinks. Thoughts?
The police officer in question would be fully funded by grant for 3 of 4 years. Its NOT a new officer, either - which some council members have completely wrong. Its a re-hire from 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely sounds like the same old mantra: reduce police because we're the safest city. And because we want 'small town feel' and community events. Are these people 'for real?'
I just wish people would hold the Council accountable. After all, isn't that one of their priorities? Open and accountable government?
You have to get them to stop spinning the issues first - aka, tell the truth.
We're the safest city because the Duvall PD has done an outstanding job. You can't just keep reducing the department and expect to stay on top for safety.
I know, some like Council Member Walker have said we don't need to be on top for safety - not a priority. That's her opinion. I can think of other cities she can move to where the level of safety would be closer to what she proposes.
She tells my neighbors she wants a neighborhood block watch. Guess door to door self-policing is supposed to replace PD?
You won't get a straight answer out of these guys. Forget it.
The fact that Duvall is safe is a big attraction for people wanting to move here AND stay here. Community events and things that give Duvall the rural small town feel are great too but safety's a big part of that. All those little towns across America, a slice of Americana...that comes back to safety - you know your neighbors, your streets are safe, your schools are safe - you can go out to events without worrying about violence and other problems. They typically have a strong police force that's in touch with the community - just like here in Duvall. Samammish was like that growing up. Last weekend, there were people injured and killed in gang violence. I bet that city is just wishing it had the kind of police force and reputation Duvall has. Once public safety and trust is damaged by violence its a really hard thing to regain. Thanks to the Duvall PD - you do an outstanding job!!
ReplyDeleteI agree that we have the best police force around. Props to them and thank you for keeping us safe despite what the council is trying to do
ReplyDeleteWhen I took the survey last year I wasn't expecting Duvall was going to say events are the most important. They're great to have for a community bond but there's other stuff thats important - and if council puts a list of priorities up, things like building blocks of our town should be higher on the list than events (a luxury) whereas safety is a must. And having a strong business environment - that's important. Events come and go - other things have to be around all the time. Put priorities in order based on that.
ReplyDeleteWhen I took the survey I thought it was just asking me what I liked about the city. I didn't know they were going to use it to determine how to spend taxpayer dollars. I really like Sunday Brunch at the Grange too, but I don't want the government to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteWhere's Bart? Why hasn't he commented on this yet?
The concern that I have is that the Council is claiming that priorities are not important but they were elected based on promises to focus on priorities. Here is an example.
ReplyDeleteCouncilmember Ockerlander promised this on her campaign website "Ensure our first responders have the resources they need to keep our families safe."
This was one of several "priorities" that were listed on the front page.
While this is only one example that I could quickly pull up, there are many many more from all councilmembers. It is a shame that we dont remember all the promises that were made to get elected...
I wonder how important the city council would feel that the police force is to the community if someone where to break into their homes, vandalize their cars, or threaten their kids? It's funny how little we think about the emergency services staff until we need their help.
ReplyDeleteAs for the priorities statements:
Councilmember Ockerlander is quite correct that it is not the government's job to set priorities. As representatives of the community, their entire agenda, priorities, and goal should be to serve the will and needs of the community. That means we, the people, set the priorities, and we expect the government bodies to act accordingly, regardless of how the individual members of the council feel about the topic.
Bart,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the part of the point you are making. It is true that we, the people, set the priorities but this is done via elections. By electing this Council the citizens have endorsed their positions and their policies, thus making their plans our agenda. Rightly or wrongly, the citizens have already supported this type of governing when they elected them to office.
I think it is absolutely governments job to prioritize. We live in a republic not a democracy. If we wanted our representatives to do only what we wish regardless of their opinion on the subject then why not govern by polling numbers or by public vote on every issue?
The oft repeated statement has never been more true; ELECTIONS MATTER. The problem is when Councilmembers promise that one thing is a priority and then once elected they say priorities don't matter.
Regardless of your opinion of each Councilmember and their politics, we should expect more from them and we should absolutely expect them to keep their promises.
So I located an article from the October 12, 2009 edition of the Valley View. In a public statement asking for your vote, Councilmember Walker said,
ReplyDelete"Your council members are charged with making good decisions for the best public benefit of the citizens of Duvall"
That seems a lot like her taking responsibility to set priorities. So I looked at what she listed as priorities in her statement. They were:
Supporting public safety and necessary services.
Community events.
Making Developers pay their own way.
I only hope that she still believes that public safety is the top priority and she keeps her campaign promise to fund it.
The link to the article is
http://www.nwnews.com/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&view=book&id=3%3Avalley-view-10-12-09&catid=2%3Avalley-view&Itemid=116
Should we still be a republic? At all levels of government from the federal to state to county to local we have elected officials who go against the direct spoken will of the people. The federal government passed health care, stimulus bills and the auto bail out AGAINST the will of the people. They are now fighting Arizona against a popular illegal immigrant enforcement law. JUST TO NAME A FEW. At the local level, there is an example of a city that is paying a city administrator over $800K a year AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/21/eveningnews/main6700234.shtml and in Ann Arbor they are laying off firefighters while paying $850,000 for art and hiring an art coordinator http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/13219
ReplyDeleteI hate to break it to you, Thomas, but the electeds are not representing us. Either because they lied to get elected or half the country is asleep and not holding them accountable. Cleaning house in November is just going to put brand new cheats in office. The system is broken. When do we say enough is enough, realize the republic cannot survive in its current form and take back our country?
Linda
We need to wake up and hold the elected officials accountable. Throwing away the republic is not the answer. Returning it to its original form is.
ReplyDeleteYou make a valid point about November. We need to pay close attention to what people say and do to be elected and what they say and do once they are. We need a long memory and a careful approach to who we give responsibility to via elections.
I firmly believe that there are excellent, honest, moral candidates out there. Seek them out, support them, and fight with all your might to get them into office. Once you do continue to stay involved. This is the only way we will truly get a handle on what goes on in City Hall.
I would love to hear from the council members themselves. It seems like the only time they try to talk to the citizens is when they are asking for my vote. They clearly don't want to talk to me when they want money, they just take it via taxes, fees, etc.
ReplyDeleteI get very concerned when they are so tight lipped. It makes me wonder what they are up to.
Dawn
PS. by the way great blog!
Dawn,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. I would also love to hear what the council has to say. It seems like the only time that you can get face time is at a council meeting. We should all go and show them that we care what they are doing. They canceled tonight's meeting but the next one is August 12th.
That's a great idea - let's show up at the Aug 12 council meeting and force them to listen to our priorities. Dawn? Bart? Are you in?
ReplyDeleteDave
I disagree with Bart's comment that government should not come up with priorities. We elect people to represent our wishes in government. It is their responsibility to listen to the people they represent and to take that body of knowledge back to government (city council meeting, committee meetings, even all the way up to the floor of the U.S. House). So, we're going to have problems if...
ReplyDelete1. Our representatives don't listen to us
2. Our representatives listen but then have a private agenda and do something else
This seems like a case of #2 to me. City council members "listen" and then they make decisions based upon their own agendas.
I'm sure they've heard from people how great our events and small town rural community are. That means they keep events and small town feel somewhere on the "priority list" but I'm sure that if they ask, "Would you prefer events over safety?" Or, "Would you like events instead of a better economy? Or events instead of stronger businesses?" They'll get a resounding, "No!"
People need to write letters to the paper, blog, attend council meetings, - anything they can to express interest and oversight on what is amounting to a runaway government.
Council members Walker and Ockerlander ran the last election with some strong support from outside groups that have agendas that don't particularly fit with the "small town, rural feel" people want in Duvall. Does that play a role in any of this?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to respond to the comment council member Dianne Brudnicki made about needing more staffers at city hall to manage the front desk and make sure people know what to do when they want to volunteer.
ReplyDeleteActually, my friends and family and I have never had a problem with this. We're actually fairly resourceful people and we can look on the website or talk to the person managing the event we want to help out at. We don't need you to hire a 'baby-sitter' who is going to 'tell us what to do' when we want to help out our own community.
In fact, I know LOTS of volunteers in Duvall. And we are not going to be 'lost' without a 24/7 front desk person to 'point us in the right direction.'
You and the city are better off spending our tax dollars in other ways...not on more office staff.
As I sit and read the responses to this topic, I find myself changing my views of the government's role in priorities. My frustration in my earlier post, and the reason I said that government should never be setting priorities is because I have yet to see any government official deliver on the promises they make to get elected. I hear a lot of promises about changing priorities, and lots of promises about delivering results, and then, once in office, nothing changes.
ReplyDeleteI see now that my response that the government should never set priorities was wrong because when the system works as it was intended to, the government will set priorities based on whatever platform led them to be elected in the first place. Taking away the prioritization role from the government would be a bandage and not a cure.
With regards to the volunteering in the community - The city does have a web site, and a local paper - why not use both to post service opportunities and who to contact? This seems cheaper and more cost effective than hiring a person to sit at a desk and read a book until someone asks 'where do I go to help with X?'.
well the dirty little secret is the city used to post things in the local paper but they no longer do. Oddly this happened about the same time the paper started to pay more attention to what the city was doing. Huh. Wonder why they don't want the paper looking?
ReplyDeleteBart -
ReplyDeleteHow refreshing to see someone willing to admit they've changed their minds about something and why. Too many people pick an agenda and stick to it, regardless of whether or not it stands up to the test of reason. The more people try to talk to them out of it, the more they hold fast, dig their heels in and shut down any exchange. Your comments are an important part of what makes this blog (and our town) work!
I agree with you about the priorities. Well said.
On the volunteering - I agree that our city does not need to hire more staff to man the front desk so that volunteers looking for a job can get direction, hand-holding, etc.
What we need is follow-through from our city. If it commits something like support of an events committee or event, it follows through with it. No back and forth, running people around. (And I do NOT mean gifts of public funds. An Example: lending an event the chairs, tables and t-shirts that they said would be available - just simple follow through on a commitment.) We don't need more city hall staff to triage volunteers - just quit making obstacles.
We need resolve.
Even after citizen input has been reviewed (surveys, etc.) and discussed by the council, it still can't pin down a list of useful priorities. Why is that?
They need two lists:
1) Essentials
2) Luxuries
And, like everyone else in this awful economy, they need to get priorities in order, "essentials" first.
Great post! You got a lot of interesting, thought-provoking comments here. Would be nice if the city is listening to feedback.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will argue passionately for things I believe are right, and I try to temper that with reason / logic. I've been known to dig my heels in and it doesn't do me a lot of good, so I'm making conscious efforts to recognize when I'm digging in and evaluate whether I'm doing so because I've picked a side and can't be bothered with facts, or because I know I'm right.
ReplyDeleteI know that at one time or another 5 of the Councilmembers have said they read the blog. Read the new post and give your opinion. let's see what the people want from the Council.
ReplyDelete