This weekend I had the great privilege to sit with a dear friend tired after a long bout with cancer as she settled in to pass on.

My heart is with you Norine and I will forever be grateful for our too short friendship and for the wonderful teachings you passed on to me.

You could not have picked a more gloriously beautiful weekend to ascend.

Peace be upon you.

President Obama commemorating the bicentennial birthday of our 16th President reminded us of Lincoln’s view of democracy, “The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people what needs to be done but which they cannot by individual effort do at all, or do so well, by themselves.” Lincoln graciously defines what cannot be done individually to include providing for the young, helpless and afflicted and building public roads, schools and highways and maintaining the ‘machinery of government’ itself.

In the 200 years since Lincoln’s birth government has, through the implementation of subsidies, tax cuts, enterprise zones and urban renewal districts, broadened the concept of what requires community effort. These incentives are meant to entice new business and new jobs by reducing startup costs for free enterprise. This is great if creates jobs but what is the return on investment to the taxpaying public? What is the price to the community per job?

Enterprise zones let qualifying businesses receive total exemption from the property taxes normally assessed on new plant and equipment for at least three years and possibly up to five years. In Oregon, these zones, 59 of them are primarily designated in economically depressed areas, 48 rural.

A study entitled “OREGON ENTERPRISE ZONE TAX ABATEMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND URBAN RENEWAL STUDY”, published by Portland State University concludes, “The cost per job created appears to be relatively high, and the comparison of reported employment growth with data from the Employment Department indicates that the reported employment growth may be overstated, which would further increase the abatement cost per job created.”

Locally, we have a prominent example of government subsidy at work in the hopes of job creation at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. According to Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, David Cay Johnston in his book “Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and stick you with the bill)”, the world famous golf course benefits from four government subsidies that exceed payroll for 325 employees and amounts to $37,000 per full time employee.

Perhaps even more famously, at least locally, a new airport terminal was built to manage the increase from 3 executive jets per year to over 5,000 private jets ferrying golfers to the self contained resort, at a price tag of $31M, half from a ticket tax and half from the Oregon State Lottery. So far, those 325 jobs are costing Oregon taxpayers quite a bit.

One of the recommendations in the PSU study is to mandate a thorough fiscal assessment of the impact on local taxing districts for local taxing authorities and offer an opt-out provision if it isn’t paying off. In Coos County we need only look at the empirical data and rising unemployment rates to decide if our tax dollars have been wisely invested and are producing badly needed jobs.

Oregon Resources Corporation qualifies for the enterprise zone property tax exemptions, (as does Bandon Dunes) and may soon enter into a mineral lease agreement with the County to mine or explore up to 8,000 acres of County timberlands for chromite ore. Coos County Commissioners Griffith, Whitty and Stufflebean took steps last December to further assist ORC by laying off 22 workers thereby freeing up $450K of Road Department funds to improve W Beaver Hill Road necessary for ORC mining operations.

South Coast Development Corporation formed, according to Whitty, as a liaison between government and private enterprise supports ORC and having the County pay for road improvements. Coos County funds SCDC $10,000 annually to attract business into the area and ORC promises upwards of 70 jobs if they reach full production.

Commissioner Main has called for the County to conduct some in depth due diligence before committing county road funds or entering into any leases. Considering ORC has already cost the local economy 22 jobs part of that due diligence should be to accurately determine the ROI to the citizens of Coos County for their investment.

A final note on enterprise zones – Coos County with its high unemployment and low median income clearly meets the criteria for an enterprise zone and the legislature makes no distinction about what brings a company to do business within an enterprise zone. Nevertheless, ORC or any other mining venture is only here because of the resources available and not with the direct intent of boosting local employment.

Without the chromite ore ORC would not be here zone or no zone. To further subsidize ORC by laying off workers and funding road improvements does not seem appropriate for a county in such dire economic straits that it qualifies as an enterprise zone in the first place.

At an organizational meeting for the committee working to recall Kevin Stufflebean it was announced tonight that in just one week 2,190 signatures had been collected to date. A total of 3,773 valid Coos County registered voters must be obtained within 90 days of the original petition filing giving the committee until April 20, 2009. If successful in obtaining the signatures, after verification, Stufflebean has five days to post an answer to the petition or resign. Assuming he does not resign a special election will be held within 35 days.

An 11th hour layoff, New Years Eve, of 22 Coos County Road Department employees by commissioners, Whitty, Stufflebean and outgoing commissioner, John Griffith has unleashed a firestorm of activity. The abrupt manner in which the County conducted the layoffs has resulted in an unfair labor practices (ULP) complaint filed against the county and initiated a recall effort of Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean.

According to claims included in an amended ULP, filed with the Oregon Employment Relations Board, January 28, 2009, the County contracted out ‘bargaining unit’ work to managers and further failed to notify the Union. “The decision to contract out bargaining unit work is a mandatory bargaining subject under ORS 243.650(7).”

The ULP claims multiple ORS violations including the County’s refusal to provide ‘…any notes, reports, transcripts, minutes and/or recordings from the County Commission’s executive session held on December 31, 2008.’ The Union requested the information January 12, 2009 to investigate possible violations of Oregon law and the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act.

Citizens for Fair and Open Government, headed by former roadmaster, Larry Van Elsberg, launched a recall believing a perceived lack of transparency on the part of the former Board of Commissioners excluded citizens from actively participating in the reorganization of the Road Department and jeopardized public safety. The County denies these claims and asserts all meetings were properly noticed in accordance with Oregon’s open records laws.

As reported last week, during a January 20, 2009 ‘worksession’ at the Owen Bldg, Stufflebean claims the Road Department layoffs were openly discussed during an announced December 16, 2008 special meeting. The Sentinel listened to the recording of that session and provided copies to some citizens to try and obtain an opinion as to Stufflebean’s claim.

Present at the meeting were Commissioners Whitty, Griffith and Stufflebean and the department budgets discussed included the Sheriff, SCINT, Juvenile and Planning as well as the Road Department. Stufflebean, aided by management from the Road Department, referred to charts that appear to be the same information supplied to media and during the Owen Bldg meeting.

Stufflebean presented anticipated reductions in revenue, the cost of maintaining aged county equipment and then explained, “…One of the things we run into with the road department is road department is actually maintenance department where we need materials, meaning asphalt and gravel in order to maintain roads. We have invested in everything but equipment and supplies… that has put us in a very difficult situation that we are in right now.”

Stufflebean notes the department has been operating in the red for several years ‘spending down carryover funds’, a claim disputed by Van Elsberg. The next spreadsheet discussed is the ten-year budget projection also provided at the Owen Bldg that includes a shift towards increased spending on asphalt, equipment purchases Stufflebean says “…we are looking at staff reductions in the 2012-2013 budget year.”

Stufflebean announces a major reduction in road department complaints owing to an emphasis on customer service attributed to managers Barry Austen and Shawn Migas. After explaining the need to invest in new equipment and that as jobs have become vacant in the last two years they have been left unfilled he states, “…we will be maintaining backhoe crews, brush cutting crews, making sure we have a culvert installation crew, do our ditching crew, we will be able to do paving, we will be able to run the crusher and we will be able to do slide removal. Sign and spray is one of our most critical functions we do, herbicide spray… plus we will be able to retain bridge inspections and we will have fleet services also.”

Reference is made to an organizational chart that lists how many people are qualified to do the jobs listed above. No reference is made in open session to impending layoffs. Ed Pool, a Bridge resident who has listened to the recording but was not present to view any of the charts says, “I heard nothing that would lead me to believe they were about to lay anyone off.”

John Griffith called an executive session citing labor negotiations and current or potential litigation. Treasurer Mary Barton, Road Department managers, Shinnock, Migas and Austen, and Human Resources Director, Steve Allen all attended with the Commissioners and County Counsel Jacqui Haggerty. The ULP claims that a decision to layoff road crew workers was made during executive session December 31 but it may have occurred during this December 16 meeting.

Pool found it curious that just before the audio cuts off Stufflebean is heard saying, “I would prefer that this be handwritten notes and not taped executive session…” Pool is now actively collecting signatures for the recall petition.

Whether the public was properly informed that a major decision relating to road maintenance was being made there is little doubt the road workers were kept in the dark. Union president Adam Wideman, about a week before the layoffs, received a copy of a 10-Year Projection for Road Dept Budgets prepared November 11, 2008 and referred to in the meeting of December 16.

The projection was part of the handouts provided to the public at the Owen Bldg meeting but was not provided to Wideman by anyone affiliated with the road department management and indicates 40 employees maintained through 2010 with a reduction of personnel beginning in 2011.

Wideman, along with all other road department employees, had been advised at 7:00 AM New Year’s Eve morning to attend a mandatory meeting at 3:30 that afternoon. Unaware that he would be laid off that afternoon he attended the regular BOC meeting that morning to ask if there were any major reductions to be made in the next couple of years and was advised there would be some changes. This was the only notice given to County Road Department employees.

The Sentinel has learned the layoff of 22 Teamster workers reduced the ratio of union to nonunion employees affecting the Oregon Teamsters Employers Trust health benefits. The number of Teamsters must exceed the number of non-Teamster workers to stay in compliance with the terms of the policy. The County has been notified that nonunion employees will lose their coverage as per trust requirements effective as early as March. Not all county workers are covered by OTET but amongst those about to lose their health insurance are the county commissioners and the human resources director.

Still in the construction phase, Citizens for Fair and Open Government have setup a new website to help organize their efforts to recall Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean. Visit RecallKevinStufflebean.org for contact info

Bandon City Councilor, Mike Claassen speaks out for Jeff Merkley in Bandon. Merkley is hoping to oust incumbent, Senator Gordon Smith

We are off to march with VFP in Bandon. Hope everyone has a great day….