Thurston County Commissioners out of touch

Thurston County, WA—There is a long and growing list of bad policy decisions the Thurston County Commissioners are making these days. I made a video blog with Glen Morgan where we highlighted the top ten worst policy choices, and you can view it here.

In these tough economic times, government should be working to prioritize government and getting their financial house in order—just as everyone employed outside of government is having to do.

I ran across a job posting that Thurston County advertised. It is for a Sustainability Specialist. I’ve read through the job description, and I’m still confused as to what this person will do—other than write a bunch of regulations.

Here is the job description for the Sustainability Specialist as advertised:

Performs a wide variety of complex and multi-faceted tasks associated with all phases of sustainability planning.  Works with the Board of County Commissioners, the Energy Conservation Committee, and other stakeholders identified by the Board to meet conservation and sustainability objectives of the County.  Drafts sustainability policies and programs for consideration by elected officials, advisory committees, and affected departments.  Develops measures of effectiveness and monitoring regimens that enable the refinement of affected policies, programs, and projects to achieve the maximum desired sustainability benefit.  Researches, analyzes, and communicates on resource conservation, principles of sustainability and related public policies.  Evaluates and develops County regulations and policies, working with the public and elected officials on sustainability issues, and conducting research and providing detailed staff reports, planning studies,and recommendations.  Designs and develops program’s short- and long-range goals, work plans and objectives with measurable performance standards and financial impacts and tracks program effectiveness.  Develops and manages assigned program budget and approves expenditures.  Researches and identifies grant opportunities in the areas of energy efficiency, clean technology and sustainability; interprets eligibility through grant resources or alternative funding.  Acts as the grant administrator and liaison with the granting agency.  Partners with organizations dedicated to green initiatives and energy/resource conservation.  Works with County offices and departments on the development of County waste prevention measures and conservation contracts.  Organizes training and educational seminars for County employees on energy reduction and sustainability activities.  Reviews needs assessments and develops resolution to issues.  Analyzes County energy efficiencies and identifies problems/issues, analyzes and evaluates deficiencies, and provides management with alternatives and recommended courses of action.

And what will this person earn? A salary of $4,305.00 - $5,740.00 / month. Not bad for a job that has no measurable performance other than how much you can harm the public with abusive regulation.

Here is a link to the job posting [archive].

Sequim dumps ICLEI

The new generation of socialists are camouflaged as your friendly environmentalists and they have a new mantra that is taking over government called “sustainability”.

I’m not as much of a conspiracy theorist as I am a believer in bandwagons, and the new, shiny, left-leaning bandwagon is called the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives or ICLEI. ICLEI contains the tools that local governments use to hypnotize citizens into willingly giving up their every last right to use and enjoy their own property.
ICLEI provides tools, model legislation and best practices for implementing “sustainable development”. Scratch the surface of ICLEI and you find centralized planning concepts—designed to move people off rural lands and into densely populated urban cores where people are “encouraged” to walk (read: taxed if you drive)  and live in small box-like condominiums.

But one sensible administrator has had enough. Sequim City Manager Steve Burkett has decided to let their ICLEI membership lapse. It expired in August. Steve has been the City Manager for two years and has been reigning in his City’s expenses in response to the economic recession. Steve said, “There wasn’t a good reason to continue the membership, so we let it lapse. In these tough economic times, we’re looking closely every expense and working to save money.

Whatever his reasons, my hat’s off to Steve for dumping ICLEI. This action means more citizen control of their local government. That’s a move in the right direction.

As of this blog post, Sequim is still listed on the ICLEI membership page. [ click here ]
Story from the Peninsula Daily News [ click here ]

WA State - Dem's Propose Budget

[read the Olympian article here]
The state budget has been released by the Dems up on the hill, and you guessed it, doom and gloom with the need for a TAX INCREASE.
While families all over the state are cutting back, your state government wants to increase their total spending. The state budget proposed will spend more money in the next two years than the last two. How many of you are able to spend more now? I bet you are really finding ways to cut back. Government needs to do the same.
The budget comes with the same tired scare techniques. The legislators are warning that they will have to cut funding from public schools, higher education, health care, elder care and disabled, corrections, the environment, and they will even have to scrap two planes owned by the WA State Patrol.
And this is what government is doing, so it is only fair that we increase your car tabs by $5.00.
I have a terrible memory, but I remember when the people of WA told the state that we were tired of being taxed on car tabs and reduced the fee to $30.00. And remember all the doomsday talk at the time? Legislators warned us that police, fire, education would all be non-existent. Guess what? We survived.
I would like to see government do their best impression of Lehman Brothers. Put all of your belongings in a box and go look for another job, please. The people of Washington state will get along just fine without you. We don't need a nanny, and if we did we wouldn't hire you.

Gregoire likes the stimulus plan -- of course

Read the Politico story here.

Gregoire wrote an ideas piece that draws a parallel between FDR's New Deal and Obama's stimulus plan. She touts it as a plan that will help save and create jobs and create future prosperity. She gives credit to FDR's New Deal as providing 75 years of prosperity.

Governor Christine Gregoire has it wrong. FDR's new deal was failing and it was WWII that scholars argue pulled us out of the great depression. Until we lift the burden from small businesses and start creating wealth, will we pull out of this depression (yes it's a depression, the reporting just hasn't caught up yet).

Christine Gregoire ran Washington State into our largest deficit ever. Now reported at over $8 billion, Gregoire is excited about any bailout from President Obama. The saving and creating jobs will be government jobs. I say we already have enough government jobs. It's time to start cuttingPublish Post them. Government jobs for the first time, outpaced industrial and construction jobs combined. The stimulus plan will only increase that gap.

Christine Gregoire needs to take a lesson from Bobby Jendal: run your state on a balanced budget and refuse the stimulus money from Obama.

Arnold Schwarzenegger needs to take a lesson from Bobby Jendal

The Governator has driven California into deep financial problems and is standing in line with his hand out yelling at the GOP to work with Obama. What Schwarzenegger should have done is manage his state and keep the budget ballanced which is his constitutional duty.

Arnold should take note from a true conservative, Bobby Jendal who has kept his state healthy and is rejecting Obama's stimulus money.

Arnold: Obama needs team players

Gregoire ready to blow through another $6 billion

Today President Obama signed into law the Economic Stimulus and Recovery Bill. Washington State is slated to receive $6.7 billion of the money.

I'm confident that Christine Gregoire will blow through this money with the same vigor and irresponsibility as the last dough she blew through. Giving her more money to spend is like sending an alcoholic to the liquor store.

Read The Olympian story.

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R. Scott Roberts : Political Activist

Boycott Maine Tourism and Industry

I am boycotting all tourism and industry of Maine, and I'm asking my fellow Americans to join me. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and the people of Maine are selling out America.

The stimulus bill before the Senate includes pork spending projects for Maine that I simply do not want to subsidise. I'm committed to creating a greater economic loss for Maine than the gain they will receive from the stimulus bill.

Creating an oppressive burden on taxpayers is not the answer to the economic problems before us. The solution is for government to step aside and let the free market work. Perhaps the stimulus bill is good for Maine, but is is bad for the rest of the country.

Maine doesn't understand that sometimes you need to make small sacrifices for the good of the nation. I'm committed to boycotting Maine until the people of Maine have representatives that consider their own needs along with the others in America.

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R. Scott Roberts : Political Activist

Boycott Pennsylvania Tourism and Industry

I am boycotting all tourism and industry of Pennsylvania, and I'm asking my fellow Americans to join me. Arlen Specter and the people of Pennsylvania are selling out America.

The stimulus bill before the Senate includes pork spending projects for Pennsylvania that I simply do not want to subsidise. I'm committed to creating a greater economic loss for Pennsylvania than the gain they will receive from the stimulus bill.

Creating an oppressive burden on taxpayers is not the answer to the economic problems before us. The solution is for government to step aside and let the free market work. Perhaps the stimulus bill is good for Pennsylvania, but is is bad for the rest of the country.

Pennsylvania doesn't understand that sometimes you need to make small sacrifices for the good of the nation. I'm committed to boycotting Pennsylvania until the people of Pennsylvania have representatives that consider their own needs along with the others in America.

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R. Scott Roberts : Political Activist

Rise Up Americans

I listened in on a conference call this evening. The callers were citizens concerned about the Senate vote; They are concerned because three 'Republican' Senators are prepared to vote for the bill.

Those Senators are: Arlen Specter-PA, Susan Collins-ME, Olympia Snow-ME.

The callers generated ideas on how to persuade these Senators to vote "no" on the bill. Most of these ideas fell into the basic ideas of protests, letter writing, appealing to the conscious of the Senators, blogging, twitter -- basic grassroots strategies.

What I learned from the call is that these Senators have their own pet projects buried in the bill. In other words, there is something in it for themselves and the people of their state. It was also my impression that it was going to be very hard to get these Senators to change their minds. There were thoughts expressed that letters written from constituents outside of the state would lack impact to these Senators because we don't vote for them and they are currently secure with their constituents.

I think focusing on the Senators is a mistake. They all are enjoying a very high approval rating and for various reasons will not be standing for election anytime soon.

I think we need to focus on the states themselves, and turn the rest of the nation against those two states. It is easy for the citizens of those states to feel good about the bill when their Senators promise to bring more spending and prosperity to them. Who will they believe more? One or two narcissistic Senators, or millions of Americans.

I believe we need to show those states the possibility of a greater economic loss than they have to gain by the stimulus bill. How many of the top-producing companies have been contacted by their Senator? When those companies begin getting thousands of emails from Americans, they will realize who has the power. Talk radio should suddenly encourage every American to avoid purchasing products from these states. We should discourage tourism to these states. We should make the people that live in these states feel as un-American as their Senators.

If the state is slated to receive $50 billion in stimulus spending, we should pledge to boycott that state until we have cost them twice what they have to gain. We should try to kick them out of the union saying, "America will not pay for your pork."

An email to a CEO in Maine might look like this: America is not going to pay for your pork projects sponsored by Senator Collins and Snowe. We are pledging to boycott the purchase of your products, until your company is bankrupt.

I think we should strive to make the people of the Senator's states feel un-American because of the actions of their Senators.

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R. Scott Roberts : Political Activist

Obama Speaks, Dow Falls

President Obama has been spewing venom towards Wall Street the past few days, and now he is working to cripple business by supporting labor unions. Today he said, "Organized labor is not the problem, it is the solution."

It is the solution to get us moving towards Socialism, not the solution to rehabilitating the economy.

The market reacted. The Dow Jones closed today at about 8,000 points, a strong psychological support. I predict that we are ready for another big slide especially if Obama keeps up his current policies and rhetoric. His legacy may be single-handily destroying a crippled US economy.

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R. Scott Roberts : Political Activist

WA State Gay Rights

Washington State legislators Sen. Ed Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen are working to re-introduce a Gay Marriage bill this session.

Everyone has their cause, and I suppose the time spent for Murray and Pedersen is better spent on Gay Marriage than working towards balancing the budget.

Read Story

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R. Scott Roberts : Political Activist

Rep. Jim Moran is a Windbag

I had to post this video to preserve the windbag talking about the stimulus bill.
Rep. Jim Moran (read: moron) is worried about the 10's of thousands of government jobs that are going to be lost because states are cutting back. He makes the argument that the money that we need to have money promised to be spent to give states confidence that there is more monty coming so they won't cut jobs.
I say cut the government jobs, and deep. I would like to see our State agencies do their best Lehman Brother's impersonation. I'll supply the cardboard boxes.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

$800 billion Will Not Solve US Financial Crisis

$I've been saying that the stimulus plan is not going to solve the problem. The economists that I've been listening to say we have a $10 trillion problem. Do you really think that $800 billion is going to make a dent?

This is like you have a $10,000 bill due and the government comes along with 800 bucks and think that they are going to help you. You might be able to hold of your creditors for a few weeks, but you are going to go under. There is no way that this stimulus bill will help.

Other economists that I've been listening to say that when (not if) the stimulus plan fails, the stock market will go down another 4,000 points. This is going to be a rough ride.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Gregoire (D): Liar or Incompetent ?

During this past campaign Dino Rossi warned of a 3.2 billion dollar budget deficit. Christine Gregoire espoused that WA State had an 800 million dollar surplus. As it turns out, we have a 5 billion dollar deficit.

Was Gregoire lying to the public? Was she misleading the public? Was she totally incompetent and didn't know we were heading towards a deficit?

The first duty of the Governor of our state is to keep the state in a healthy financial position. Was Gregoire lying, or incompetent? You be the judge.

Videos:

Gregoire Denies a Deficit

Gregoire Denies a Budget Deficit Again

Gregoire Wants a State Income Tax

Gregoire Blows Through Surplus - Campaign Ad

Gregoire Income Tax Quiz

Gregoire "We Do Not Have a Deficit Today"

News Articles:

Seattle Times 11/06 -- Balance Budget without Raising Taxes?

KREM.com 11/19 -- WA State Deficit Grows to Over 5 Billion

KIRO TV 11/22 -- Budget Cuts Will be 'Truly Ugly'

Seattle Times 11/30 -- Gregoire Faces Massive Buget Cuts

My Budget reflects my values and the values of the people of Washington state.

We are in a serious budget crisis. 5 billion dollars is a lot of money for Washington (read: you and me). Gregoire's proposed cuts as 'ugly' as they may seem, are not even a drop in the bucket towards getting our financial future secure.

You can bet that the tax increase rethoric is about to begin. Wouldn't it be nice to have the gambling revenue that Gregoire pissed away. I think I remember that it was about 160 million dollars a year that she gave away in return for campaign contributions?

Robin Edmondson (R) for County Commissioner

I had a chance to interview Rob Edmondson yesterday. He is running for County Commissioner position 2; The same seat that will be vacated by Diane Oberquell at the end of this year. Simply said, Rob is one of those candidates that you wish there were more of. He is a fresh voice for politics and has a ton of new ideas. Edmondson said, "I call it the way I see it." He is a man with a direct leadership style crafted from his background as a CEO. Rob has an education in global economics and ties these concepts back to Thurston County. Edmondson said, "I accurately predicted the budget crises coming to Thurston County and I have a plan to fix it." And he quickly recites how he will prioritize needs vs. wants in each county department. He talks about how he will separate legislative mandates and scrutinize those. He has a plan to use new technology to automate bureaucratic processes, identify areas where he can combine resources and even outsource some services. There are some things he says are simple, "I don't understand why we are sending employees out in 6 passenger SUV's. Hasn't the county heard of Smart Cars? I will look at every single purchase and identify the best solution at the lowest cost." I like that thought ... downsize the County government from an SUV to a smart car. Simple isn't it? One of the ideas I like best is he has an idea to create a group of experts that would bring even better ideas to Thurston County. Edmondson said, "I want to create a group of super men and women, all of which are nationally recognized and have a minimum of 20 years experience. One will focus on financial matters, one will focus on goods and services, and three will be grant writers. I want to find unique solutions to our problems that can't be foreseen." It takes a combination of humility, experience, and knowledge to come up with these ideas. Robin Edmondson has a fresh approach and will be a breath of fresh air to the commission. Go to Edmondson's website.

Thurston County Budget Crisis Continues

Thurston County must find an additional $2.3M in cuts on top of the acknowledged $4M shortfall.

The Commissioners still aren't taking an active leadership role in making cuts. They have asked their 23 department heads to look at ways they can make cuts. This is the same thing the Commissioners have been doing for the past months with no results. Are they really expecting different results this time?

Since 2005 Thurston County has been spending money on a legal challenge from Futurewise. Thurston County estimates that they have spent $1.5M on this action. Ironically, Sandra Romero (D) is a Futurewise board member who is also running for County Commissioners. Romero says that she is just the person to fix the budget (after helping to derail it).

Thurston County Budget Crisis

Today in the Letters to the Editor in The Olympian, there are two letters that talk about the Thurston County Budget. The first is another blow by Dan Kimball and the judges. They talk about their services are mandated and it's going to be hard to cut them further:

"Our offices represent the major priorities of government: public safety and the rule of law. In responding to ongoing fiscal realities, we've already pared our budgets to minimal feasible levels. Many of our core functions are mandated by constitution, statutes and court rules and cannot be legally eliminated. Much of our financial stress is caused by unfunded mandates, which come without funding for such services."

The other is by Debbie Neely pointing out that the Commissioners are being conspicuously silent.

"Not only did the county commissioners count on revenue that had not materialized, they are conspicuously silent when it comes to accepting responsibility."

I agree, in a time when the commissioners should be rolling up their sleeves and tackling the budget problem, they are retracting and not showing strong leadership. Someone was asleep at the switch. What people aren't talking about is that Sandra Romero and her special-interest group called 'Futurewise' have cost the County $1.5M of the approximate $4M shortfall. Are the Commissioners being conspicuously quiet because they don't want to shed a dark shadow on Sandra Romero's current campaign for County Commissioner? Afterall, Cathy Wolfe, and Sandra Romero worked together back in the day.
Download the letters here.

Thurston County Budget Woes

Earlier this week The Olympian blamed the Thurston County Commissioners for overspending the County's budget. Of course they are to blame, they approve and administer the budget. It is usually simple math -- spend less than you make. We all understand this in our own personal budgets. Why is it so hard for our elected officials to 'get it'?

I'm elated that The Olympian published the truth and was finally critical of our Commissioners. Hurray!

Here is the good news: It is an election year! Dianne Oberquell will be retiring and Cathy Wolfe is running for re-election. Send Cathy Wolfe a message with your vote in November; Send her packing.

Rising Fuel Costs Force Choices

About the only thing I can agree with Robert here is that the rising fuel costs are causing Americans to make choices.

You can do two things: 1. cry about it like the woman and her two children suffering between the choices of renting a video and putting fuel in their car, or 2. you can get your household budget in order.

Of course I feel for a single mother and her two children. However, I cannot fall prey to a heartfelt logic that tries to lure a George Bush conspiracy theory.

The high prices of oil aren't some conspiracy at the white house and George Bush. It is simply a matter of supply and demand. The solution is for America to become energy independent. We can do this by drilling our own vast oil reserves and at the same time develop new, sustainable technology.

My only question is, "Why is this taking so long?"

County Budget Shortfall

I agree with Lois Powell and his comments below. The Commissioners should have foreseen the budget shortfall. Administrating the budget is their primary duty. The only reasonable explanation is that they were asleep at the switch. I believe the budget fiasco is a result of a lack of leadership. Louis Powell's comments as Published in The Olympian below:

Commission should have seen budget shortfall
I agree with Sgt. Dave Odegaard of the sheriff’s office. The county commissioners and their administrative staff have demonstrated their incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility.
Are they in na-na land?
I didn’t see them decline their pay raises.
Lois Powell, Rochester