The Duke

A short historical report, with embellishments, from the Scilly Islands, year 1855, County Cornwall, England:

The Duke, as he liked to call himself, had done well. As a loyal subject, the King had named him Lord Proprietor of Scilly, a small cluster of islands off the coast of southern England. His lady, who was known as the Duchess, thought a gated County would have been better reward, but being the dutiful trooper, she resigned herself to making the best of the situation. The Duchess had a pride of ownership. She saw, as one of her tasks, keeping things neat and tidy around her islands while giving daily reminders to the Duke’s staff of overseers that things were just not up to snuff. She had high standards after all.

The Duke and Duchess had a gaggle of like-minded friends who served as their advisors. Like the Duke and Duchess, their friends were doing well. The Duke’s friends were ever vigilant to squash any possible changes to the status quo. Being highly motivated by self-interest, the Duke, Duchess and friends were determined not to let their comfortable situation or superior status in the Scillys slip.

It turned out that maintaining the status quo in the Scilly Islands was stressful. The all-too-common, common people who also lived on the Islands of Scilly were a restive bunch. It took a consistent and firm hand to remind the common folk that they were subjects. It was the role of the common to work, pay taxes, support the status quo and, as needed, serve the Duke, Duchess and friends without complaining about their personal petty problems.

To head off the growing resentment and maintain peace with the common folk, the Duke, the Duchess and friends made an effort to be sensitive and politically correct. They even stopped making public reference to the common folk as a mindless flock of sheep or the more pejorative…selfish stupid peasants.

For their part, the common folk didn’t seem to appreciate the shift in the Duke and friends public attitude, in part because of reports were coming from inside the castle that, in private conversation amongst the Duke and friends, they were still being referred to as mindless sheep and stupid peasants. The Duke’s more congenial and benevolent public approach to governing the peasants was not working. The peasants were getting noticeably grumpier and more disagreeable by the day.

The peasants weren’t just grumpy… they were hungry! One peasant named Robin of Samson Island, who lived on a 95 acre rock in the Scillys, even wanted to eat some of the deer, grouse and fish from the Scilly Island’s protected habitats. These were critters the Duke had purposefully set aside for his own enjoyment. The Duke liked the current arrangement and was not about to open up his lands to the peasants. In fact, on advise of his friends and based on the science studies the Duke had commissioned, it was his plan was to set more of the land aside…uncluttered with grumpy peasants. With the help of the friends, the planning scribes were drafting the proper land regulations to evict Robin of Samson and 9 other peasants off 95-acre Samson Island to create a new deer park complete with appropriate buffers.

The Duke and friends heard the peasants were also complaining of being cold and wet. He knew that his proclamations and edicts protecting the views had made houses for the common folk expensive and largely unavailable. Sacrifices had to be made he thought. The Duke did note, however, that if enough people were crowded into a modest stick and wattle house, their combined body heat would the reduce the negative impact on the island’s forest habitat caused by cutting down trees for fuel, and he was told, reduce the carbon footprint and improve the climate…another problem the Duchess and friends said he needed to address.

More problems! To the Duchess, the sprawl of peasant homes was blight on her territorial view. Some peasants had even turned barns or tool sheds into houses for their children and guests! As the Duchess nagged, the friends advised the Duke that if he gave an inch of wiggle room to the peasants on this whole food and shelter nonsense, they would just want more and ruin the Scillys forever. Equally important, he was told; the peasants could not be trusted to treat the Scilly’s landscape views, flora and fauna with the same reverence that the Duke and friends provided.

For the Duke, this whole business of being given islands by the King, living in the big house with the Duchess and entertaining a bunch of pushy friendly advisors wasn’t all it was cracked up to be…what with all these demanding grumpy peasants he had to deal with. The Duke approached the King with the problem. The King listened carefully and said he had a solution. As King, he would set some new rules. All the Duke had to do was enforce the new rules and all would be well.

As it turned out, peasant problems were the same across the kingdom. The King issued proclamations for the Grand Management Plan that set aside tracts of land for views and wildlife habitat in every County. He called them “land banks, critical wildlife areas and buffers.” Lands were designated for the flora and fauna, waters for the fish, wetlands for salamanders, trees for the birds. “Do not enter under penalty of flogging” signs were posted on buffers around the designated wildlife habitat areas.

To address the peasant issue, any land that was left over after protecting the King’s wildlife would still be available for the peasants. Orders were drafted on how the surviving peasants should conduct their daily lives and where they would be allowed to live on the left over lands so their piddling activities would not spill over onto the designated wildlife habitats. The rules were to be strictly enforced. The Duke made sure the peasants still paid their taxes, including on the designated wildlife land the Duke now managed.

Things worked out well in the end for the Duke, Duchess and friends. The King solved a big social and environmental problem facing his kingdom. The Duke and Duchess and friends could say, “the King made us do it” so the status quo was maintained. By edict, the common folks could no longer be angry, grumpy or throw cow pies at the Duke, Duchess and friends when they toured the countryside. The flora and fauna, deer, grouse and fish lived out their lives largely uninterrupted except for an occasional recreational hunting incident with the Duke. The Duchess had a view from the big house that she could enjoy and an equally fine view as she tooled around the County. The friends kept all their perks, their high esteem among those who mattered, a very high opinion of themselves for their critical role in saving the County from the peasants…and acknowledgement in polite company, that they were the “real” power behind the Duke.

For the common folk things didn’t work out quite as well. Ironically, they actually had chances to vote and choose the ruling powers, but it seems they always made choices that brought the worst results to them, but good results for the Duke, the friends and the fish.

Alas, in the end, many of the common folk were still cold and hungry with no suitable place to live. They went about their daily lives, worked and paid their taxes, and grumbled, although no one who mattered ever listened. On the bright side, they took comfort in knowing that through their sacrifice, the Duke, the Duchess and friends and the flora, fauna, fish and birds were content and enjoying the quality of life that was their entitlement. And, as a bonus, the common folk were still allowed to view the land they used to live on as long as they didn’t get too close to the Duke’s wildlife and kept things tidy.

And so it goes.

John B Evans: Columnist for the Guardian, Farmer and nurseryman in Doe Bay, County Commissioner for 12 years, Current Chairman of the San Juan County Republican Party, Executive Director of SJC Builders Association, and one of the founding members of Citizens For Responsible Government, a not-for-profit & a non-partisan corporation

Knapp Is Right

Councilman Gene Knapp suggested that the County Council communicate with our elected officials in Washington D.C. and tell them to get moving on a solution to the illegal immigration problem. I could not agree more.

There are at least 11 million undocumented illegal aliens working and living in the United States according to most reports. Some of these workers are in San Juan County. Quite frankly, these hard working folks are contributing to our local economy. Across the country whole industries; agriculture, food processing, horticulture, restaurants and food serve, the hospitality industry, manufacturing and construction are dependent on these hard workers. Taking 500 workers out of a meat packing plant in Iowa this week or a dozen workers from San Juan County who are traveling to the mainland is not solving the problem.

Most illegal aliens are here because they care about their family’s future just as you and I do. They have little or no opportunity in the countries where they were born. They have come to the U.S. because historically getting back and forth across the border has been relatively easy. Simply by coming across a line drawn in the sand they could begin to build a future. If I were in their circumstance I expect I would do the same.

For the United States however, this undocumented, and uncontrolled crossing the borders is a significant problem. Absent any kind of visa and screening process, we get criminal elements, drug smugglers, possibly terrorists right along with the majority who are just good decent folks who want to work.

The current situation is totally unacceptable. An illegal work force cannot be plugged into the tax system therefore they do not contribute to the schools and other public services they or their children receive. Illegal aliens pay into a social security system but will never receive the benefits. Likewise, they pay into unemployment and industrial accident systems but are understandably reluctant to access the benefits they paid for. Non-citizens are not supposed to vote, but our electoral system is so loose that illegal voters can become a factor in the calculations of some political machines, effectively negating the votes of our citizens.

The problem is not as complicated as the politicians seem to want to make it:

A simple, well-administered guest worker visa program would solve the problem for the current illegal aliens and employers alike. A legal work status needs to be the basis for moving forward with other issues such as taxes and benefits. The folks who are here now should be able to apply for and get a work visa if they are employed and do not have a criminal background. Those who are here can work and go back to their native country to visit and return without being sneaking back and forth. Those who want to apply for citizenship can go through the necessary steps.

The border needs to be secured or the issue will never be resolved. Every country has a right and obligation to provide secure borders. If a functioning work visa program is in place, new workers then have a legal avenue to come here and work. The government and employers could balance the jobs that are available and the workers to fill them.

There is discussion that the illegal aliens who are here now should pay a fine or some such penalty. There is no good purpose to be served to charge a person doing service work in a hotel or packing carrots, $5,000 or some other penalty. It is true that they came here illegally. That is because the guest worker visa system, such as it is, does not work and the legal immigration is a bureaucratic mess. Additionally, the borders have been largely open for decades.

The old saying was that when something was a total FUBAR, you scrapped it and started over. The whole illegal alien situation is a classic FUBAR. Our government should be concerned about the criminal and terrorist possibilities that are hidden by the current illegal alien mess. Instead, we are expending untold manpower and tax dollars chasing hotel and farm workers when we should be putting that effort into protecting our citizens from some really bad folks who want to do us harm.

San Juan County’s new Aquatic Reserve Designation

The San Juan County Council is currently considering a new San Juan County Aquatic Reserve designation for the salt waters of San Juan County. The reserve designation…designed to protect the salt waters of San Juan County from human impacts… has the full cooperation of state and federal agencies and is unanimously endorsed by local, state and national environmental groups.

Key elements of the plan are still being worked out, but include the prohibition of motorized boats on the waters of the County. Kayaks and sailboats of less than 20 feet will be allowed, however. When asked about why the limit on sailboats over 20 feet, a Council spokesman said that big boats, like big houses are just not appropriate in the San Juan Islands.

San Juan County already bans jet skis. The jet ski ban has been tested in court so the Prosecutor and the Council feel it should not be a problem to include other motorized boat traffic.

A spokesperson for the Washington State Ferry Service indicated support for the Aquatic Reserve designation and ban of motorized boats, adding that the current shortage of ferries will be solved if they can eliminate service in the San Juan’s and transfer the San Juan ferries down sound. The spokesperson indicated there will be little opposition to the elimination of ferry service to the islands since the Council fired the outspoken chairman of the Ferry Advisory Committee and one or two grumpy Advisory members resigned.

State legislators could not be reached for comment on what effect the elimination of the island ferry service will have on the Scenic Byways legislation that was passed to give tourists a better view. Legislative staffers offered that while it may look like this is yet another example of a government goof, kayak paddlers deserves a nice view as do people in small sail boats.

The governor indicated that working out these kinds of kinks, goofs and mix-ups that have occurred in her first term in office is a primary reason she is re-elected clean up the mess and to do it right next time. She added that banning ferries in the San Juan’s would be a real benefit to the State transportation budget. The ban will free up millions of dollars that would have been spent on new boats.

The governor pledged that the money saved will be used for bike trails and other critical transportation infrastructure needs in urban areas like King County… and for education. When asked how money saved by not building ferries translates into additional money for education, the governor said, “The public needs to be educated on how to organize their lives around the commuter bus schedules. The highways are too crowded to accommodate any more cars. If people don’t start riding their bikes to work, or taking the bus, new highway capacity will have to be added which is not only expensive, but contrary to the State’s green initiative to deal with global warming caused by China building coal fired power plants at a rate of one a day. We already have the highest gasoline tax of any state in the nation and I just can’t break my pledge, yet again, not to raise taxes and fees. If we can just stop our wasteful standard of living in the State of Washington we will preserve nature and be sustainable!”

The governor was sympathetic to the observation that the San Juan Islands will become largely uninhabited without ferries, but she indicated that islanders, being the environmentally aware people that they are, were up to making sacrifices, no matter how difficult in the short run. Islanders seem fine with achieving a natural balance in the environment that was present before settlement by non-native Americans. After all, she observed, the County’s citizens and government are already moving along that path with GMA and the Critical Areas update of the County’s Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development code.

Reporting on April 1st by the joker from Olga, John Evans

Winter Notes From Doe Bay

Things quiet down on the east end of Orcas Island this time of year. It is too chilly for the Doe Bay Resort’s clothing-optional hot tub to get much use, work the 90-foot sail boat being built in the woods half way up Mt. Picket off Broken Axel Road is waiting for better weather, and the boat floats at Pt. Lawrence and Olga are put away in safe harbors. The local cows, horses and sheep are on winter hay rations and sticking close to the barn. Even our local busybody is quiet. Lately, no one has heard about any new complaints from her to the County about her neighbors.

The Olga Art Works is still busy though with a Christmas sale of local artist’s works and the Olga Café @ the Art Works is doing a brisk business from locals and a few visitors who appreciate great food that would be hard to match at 5 star mainland restaurant. The Olga Store is closed for the winter, but the Olga Post Office seems busier than ever. It is amazing how much mail comes in and out of this little post office. The post office building has less floor area than a typical home kitchen.

The big excitement recently was the boat that smashed on to the rocks during the big windstorm. A family that was living on the 36-foot boat in the Anacortes area was caught in the storm. It was dark. They were lost and ran out of fuel. ending up on the rocks along Shorewood. Mom and dad and 4 children, plus two dogs and two cats managed to clamber up the rocks and made their way to the Fickel’s home. Other neighbors took mom and three of the children to the clinic to treat cuts and bruises. Once patched up, the family spent the night back in Shorewood with the Johansons. Neighbors provided cloths for everyone. The family was taken to the ferry in the morning with arrangements in place for the Red Cross to meet them in Anacortes when the ferry arrived. No one thought to call 911. Folks out here tend to take care of things themselves and each other.

The other big news at the East end is that we now have some new guardrails along two stretches of the Olga-Point Lawrence Road. Most of us think this is a good improvement, especially at the sharp corner at the bottom of the Doe Bay hill. Now rather than the occasional car going over the 20-foot embankment into the creek, the car and driver are more likely to stay at road level. What will they think of next?

Those of us who stick around for the winter are looking forward to Christmas. The Doe Bay community has already had the community potluck and gift exchange. Last Friday night was the Eastsound tree lighting and visit from Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause. It turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Clause spend most of the year on Orcas and telecommute to the North Pole. This Internet thing is great. Now if we could just get the County Council to fix the county regulations so we could get cell phone coverage.

As part of last week’s festivities, the community band played Christmas carols. The Lions club provided a tent. The Orcas Chamber of Commerce served cookies and hot cider. A crowd of over 200 had a great time. The stores all stayed open into the evening with special sales. Everyone seems to have the Christmas spirit. The community choir has presented their Christmas program at Orcas Center and this Saturday evening the community band presents their Christmas Concert with a buffet afterward. Why some folks leave for the winter and miss all this is a mystery.

Like all islanders, those of us here on the East end of Orcas are wondering what is going on with the ferry system. The governor and the legislature made a big deal about putting a billion dollars of our tax money away for a rainy day. In case no one has noticed, the ferries are dripping wet! Or, what about the added gas tax we are all paying for transportation infrastructure? Here all along we thought ferries were part of the transportation system. Now there is talk about a local additional property tax to pay for ferry service? Maybe all those tax dollars floating around are needed for something really important like trolley cars or a new stadium in Seattle.

We are also wondering about the State rule that any new ferries have to be built in Washington shipyards. A nice thought even though it will cost a lot more, but in case no one has noticed, one of the state’s few shipyards just went bankrupt. Do we have the shipyard capacity even if we issued a contract today? No one here seems to know the answer.

And finally, just to irritate those folks who think they have to be politically correct and say “happy holidays” so as not to offend local druids…. Merry Christmas everyone!

John B Evans: Columnist for The Island Guardian, Farmer and nurseryman in Doe Bay, County Commissioner for 12 years, Executive Director of the SJC Builder's Association, and one of the founding members of Citizens For Responsible Government, a not-for-profit & a non-partisan corporation

Hinder, or Help?

Why in the world the County Council is considering putting the owner/builder home ownership option out of business is beyond me. The owner/builder opportunity is the one bright spot in the County’s ongoing affordable housing crisis,

The owner/builder program is about the only way that someone can build a home for themselves using local materials. It is also the only way a person can build a home without taking out an expensive construction loan from a bank. In this day and age, even being able to qualify for a loan is next to impossible for San Juan County’s working families.

Past County Commissioners, in particular Democrat Rhea Miller from Lopez, fought hard to make sure that this program would be allowed by the State law. All past Commissioners, whether Republican or Democrat, have enthusiastically supported the program. It may be an anathema to some in the county government’s building regulation business to have something built without their direct involvement and oversight, but the program has worked.

This “need to regulate” has come up before and the elected representatives of the citizens have always done the right thing and told county staff the owner/builder program is not on the table… period.

That the County Administrator and the County Council would even let this be considered in the budget is a real slap at the self-sufficient tradition of island living and at housing affordability. The Council should be doing all it can to make it easier and less expensive for those who have the gumption to provide housing for themselves in a manner they can afford.

The owner/builder program has worked as intended. Over the years, people who otherwise could not afford to own a home or who just want to do their own construction or maybe use local materials now have a home of their own.

There are restrictions…the building cannot be for commercial purposes, the home has to have a disclosure registered with the auditor to inform some future buyer that it was owner built, the home can not be built for resale, the home has to pass basic health and safety inspections and the owners have to do most of the work themselves.

One of the biggest problems San Juan County businesses and local government faces is that it is almost impossible to find workers who can afford to live here and own a home. Even with the good living wage jobs workers and their families go elsewhere because of housing costs. The owner/builder option is one way that working families can make a go of it here.

John B Evans: Columnist for The Island Guardian, Farmer and nurseryman in Doe Bay, County Commissioner for 12 years, Executive Director of the SJC Builder's Association, and one of the founding members of Citizens For Responsible Government, a not-for-profit & a non-partisan corporation

Duplicative Bureaucracy

Every week it seems there is a proposal by the County council to impose some new layer or level of regulation on the citizens of the San Juan County. The latest is the letter of intent the Council voted to send to DNR to consider designating all of San Juan County an “Aquatic Reserve”.

Someone needs to be able to answer the question, “What is this designation going to accomplish that isn’t already covered by the current layers of regulation?”

Anyone who has proposed to do anything on or near the waters of San Juan county already has to satisfy the oversight and regulation from the County; Washington State Department of Natural Resources; Washington Fish and Wildlife; The Washington State Department of Ecology; the US Army Corps of Engineers; and Indian Tribes.

Satisfying these agencies and organizations often requires hiring lawyers and various experts, expensive surveys and extensive studies. Then comes the appeal from the Friends of the San Juan’s.

The “Aquatic Reserve” notion is about the same as the proposal years ago by the federal government to create a marine sanctuary in the waters of the County. That proposal was defeated and replaced with the San Juan County Marine Resource Committee.

The San Juan County MRC idea has grown into similar citizen-driven marine resource committees in a number of counties that boarder the Sound. This citizen-based approach has been very affective.

The Council should realize that the potential impacts of this new proposal are significant. Agencies and businesses that have to use the waters of San Juan County are in for a bureaucratic nightmare if the “aquatic reserve” goes through. Wait until OPALCO has to replace a marine cable that brings electricity to all of us. Even with existing permit processes, it took years and tens of thousands of dollars to accomplish the last cable replacement. Next time, with yet another bureaucratic layer, it will cost even more and take even longer; if it can be done at all.

Then there are the Washington State Ferries. They are on the ropes right now. Do we think an “aquatic reserve” designation for the ferry routes and terminals will make ferry travel any less expensive or improve the service? The list of potential negative impacts is long. There will be new hoops for the sewer districts to jump through; for the Port of Friday Harbor; for water-based businesses of all kinds, and for marina operators.

The Council only seems to listen to the environmental lobby. They don’t seem to give a passing thought to the vast majority of our citizens who are struggling to keep a toehold in the islands. This new layer of duplicative bureaucracy is unnecessary, and potentially very disruptive.
Shoreline businesses will be affected, marinas and resorts will suffer and the ferry system will have yet another stumbling block to overcome. Eventually an “aquatic reserve” designation bureaucracy will raise the cost of living for everyone in the islands.

If the Council was really paying attention to doing the public’s business, they would make an effort to bring in some of the folks who are likely to be affected by their proposed new regulatory bureaucracy, and hear what they have to say before jumping into something on the recommendation of a few folks with a narrow agenda.

One of the councilman said this would increase employment. You bet…the taxpayers will need to hire more bureaucrats! Congratulations to Councilman Rich Peterson for doing some research and voting against the proposal.

An Open Letter… & Some Advice

Just a note to let you folks in the Courthouse know that some of us out here in the County are beginning to wonder what in the heck is going on with our County government,,, and some friendly advice

Some specifics…

Randy, the first rule of holes is when you find yourself in one, stop digging! The press release you sent out simply doesn’t match the underlying facts or substance regarding the storm water initiative that 2000 plus County voters signed. Alex Gavora happened to be the person who submitted the petition to the Auditor. For crying out loud, you gave her advise on the wording of the petition! Your press release takes her to task for trying to follow the Charter! The State says we have to do something about storm water. It doesn’t mandate how we pay for it. That is the issue that 2000 plus citizens want to vote on. Stop digging!

While I am on the subject, forget any more press releases on the gas tax initiative you and the County got into. The Supreme Court has now told you twice that you are wrong. Their decision was unanimous! Stop digging unless, of coarse, you have struck gold in the hole. Striking gold would come in handy. It is likely to be an expensive bill when the gas tax folks sue you and the County Council, and the taxpayers have to pay up!

County Council, when the wheels are falling off the wagon… stop and fix them! The USA Today reported that San Juan County has the second lowest number of children under the age of 5 of all the counties in the nation. One county in Michigan is ahead of us…3.1% under 5 years of age verses our 3.4%. What this says to me is that young working families just can’t make it in San Juan County. If you don’t start taking the issue of housing affordability for working families, and the issue of our shrinking middle class seriously, (and pretty darn quick), we can look forward to being number one in the nation. Hardly a statistic I expect we want to achieve.

Forget trying to figure out how to pad the Council’s travel budget and give some thought to how we are going to change the way things are done here so middle class working families can stay in San Juan County. The status quo, (GMA, Smart Growth or whatever it is called) is a glaring failure for working families. Good planning, GMA or otherwise, should not make the middle class extinct!

Pete Rose, For nearly a year now we have been told that things are going to get better for someone who wants to build a home, remodel a kitchen, add a room or fix their deck. The poor souls who apply for the requisite building permit are still waiting four months for that piece of paper. The system is not working.

This lack of performance by Permitting and Planning is one part of the housing affordability crisis we are facing. I bet there are some folks out there who are surprised when the County calls and tells them their permit is ready. It took so long to get the permit they forgot they even applied!

A final observation is that this would be a good time to take a deep breath and think about what county government should be about. No one at the courthouse gets up in the morning and sets out to screw up, but when things don’t work out, admit the mistakes and take constructive action to fix them.

One good starting point is to think like a citizen, not a government official. There are all kinds of demands and suggestions from the State bureaucrats who tell you that you should do thus and so. Some of that stuff just doesn’t work for San Juan County. It is easy to get caught up in the moment if most of your input comes from within State and local government circles, or special interest groups with their agendas. It is hard to get ideas and input from average citizens, but it is worth the effort.

Thanks for listening.

Off To Court - Again?

It may be time for the Council to hire an indoor air quality consultant. There must be something in the courthouse environment that is causing some elected officials to respond to citizen’s input by taking them to court.

Earlier this year the Council gave the County Prosecutor, Randy Gaylord, a nod to use used public funds to sue citizens on the free speech matter that grew out of the gas tax issue. The Prosecutor got his head handed to him by the State Supreme Court when they issued a rare unanimous decision against the Prosecutor’s argument and the use of public funds in this manner.

Now the Council appears headed for another suit against private citizens (related story) ; this time against those who used the referendum process under the Charter to compel a public vote on how storm water management is funded. The Council may not like to have their decision questioned, but a vote on money issues is clearly allowed under the Charter and under State law…witnesses Prop 601.

There is no denying that the State legislature took away the citizen’s right to vote on land use matters. Citizens have very little recourse over what the State and the County elected officials and bureaucrats decide on land use matters. (It wasn’t very long ago that the Council ignored the 73% of the voters who wanted to keep the accessory dwelling unit law we had and refused to defend the citizen’s overwhelming supportive vote in the courts).

On the other hand, the Charter’s citizen referendum on the table today is a dollar and cents matter, not a land use issue! Under GMA, the County is required to have a funded storm water program…. all well and good. How the money is collected to pay for storm water infrastructure, how much, from whom and under what criteria are Charter and referendum issues.

The Council needs to get behind the spirit and the law of the Charter. Those who promoted our new Charter claimed it was the avenue for bottoms up citizen input to government actions. Several Charter panel proponents are now on the Council. This is the first test.

The County’s current storm water legislation has some problems, not the least of which is that the County has yet to clearly identify what the storm water management needs really are, or why the current storm water budget has virtually all the money collected going to salaries for public works staff as opposed to actually building storm water handling capacity, and despite the fact that property owners are already required to deal with, (and pay for), what ever storm water their “development” causes.

These issues are probably considered land use and are not subject to the referendum process. Future elections will determine how well the voters feel about the judgment of individual Councilmen.

At this point in time, we can only hope the Council would honor the referendum process and the open dialog that will precede a vote on funding mechanisms. The issue behind the referendum is not whether we are obligated to address storm water…just how it is going to be paid for.

There are three other ways to fund storm water management. (One intriguing idea is to fund it from the property tax dollars the County already collects… maybe from the million dollars plus that is diverted out of the road fund each year).

The Council has an obligation to the citizens who signed the referendum petition, and the many others who never got the chance to sign, to clearly explain the alternatives so the voters can make an informed choice. Maybe the voter’s choice will be to leave the funding mechanism just as it is.

The storm water-funding panel I served on felt that the funding system we recommended, and the Council passed, was the best choice. At the same time, a number of us on the panel felt that the voters should make the final decision. Past experience has shown that the voters will financially support necessary programs that make sense.