Should Budgets Increase for Sewage, Street Maintenance and Police?

City hall is complaining about budget shortfalls in several areas. For lack of street budget, two of the Public works employees have been assigned full time to the sewage budget.

Most of the time, the other public works employee is assigned under the street budget.

Yet, for more than a year, public works has been video recorded finding time to perform surveillance of selected citizens.

In addition, a second public vehicle is now being recorded driven for personal use.

The sewage treatment plant must be monitored, calibrated and tests taken once every twenty-four hours.

On holidays and weekends, an employee is scheduled to check the treatment plant and perform the required tests.

In a free society, those assignments should not include scheduling surveillance drive-bys of selected citizens.

To further authorize and encourage these practices, the city has passed an ordinance allowing an appointed employee, without qualifications or notice, to enter upon private property to " inspect and investigate ".

That " investigation " is neither defined nor limited but is being challenged in court as unconstitutional.

Response to the right to challenge is an increase in surveillance and harassment.

Some citizens are wondering if Shady Cove has adopted the mentality of the SS and Gestapo of seventy years ago?

In this mentality, the " bad guys " include law-abiding citizens who disagree with the power center or are considered nonconformists by the administration.

Next time your vote is requested to approve bonds or fees to upgrade the sewage system or streets, ponder if in fact you are being asked to provide more vehicles for employee private use or budget increases for surveillance and harassment of selected citizens.

Then ask yourself, " Could you be next " ?

When requested to approve another police levy, ponder if it is to approve funds to unburden public works from continuing surveillance normally assigned to police?

Is it to provide more public resource for the private use of select councilors, (complaint # 02-125), or other city employees?

Is it to allow the city police to patrol even beyond Trail, Butte Falls and Dodge Bridge at your expense?

Then there is the water district. What will it cost you for it to become another city hall weapon?  QS