Editorial: Council offers empty promises in open-carry debate

It’s still not exactly clear to us exactly what the Corvallis City Council has in mind as it works toward laying to rest the controversy over a proposed open-carry ordinance for the city.

The council’s Administrative Services Committee last year rejected calls to craft a possible ordinance to ban the open carry of loaded firearms in public places in the city. That was the smart decision; the need for the ordinance never was clearly established, and the ordinance would not have done a single thing to make Corvallis a safer place.

Read more at the Corvallis Gazette-Times Read More......

Republican Women held bag ban forum - support for repeal grows

On Monday, March 25th, the Benton County Republican Women held a Bag Ban Forum at the Comfort Inn Suites in Corvallis with representatives from local businesses, the Corvallis City Council and Voters for Effective Environmental Policy (VEEP). The audience was welcome to ask questions and express their views on the ban on single use plastic bags and more. See story and videos at Corvallis TidBits: Plastic Bag Ban Challenge Closer to Becoming Reality.

UPDATE NOTICE: Representatives from Voters for Effective Environmental Policy (VEEP) will be the guest speakers at a special meeting of Benton County AFP on Saturday, April 13th, from 11AM to 1PM at King Tin Restaurant, 1857 NW 9th St., in Corvallis. VEEP is circulating a petition to repeal the bag ban ordinance. Read More......

Let's just bag the bag ban. Speak up!

Seattle, WA – Seattle has banned the use of plastic bags in grocery stores for the greater good of the environment. However several grocery store owners say this action has been calamitous to their bottom line [Just like Corvallis!]. ✧ Shoppers have resorted to using reusable totes since the City Council unanimously voted in the plastic bag ban in July. Businesses in Seattle charge a nickel for paper bags in order to encourage consumers to use the more environmentally friendly reusable bags. Since the ban has been in effect, shoplifting has soared and stores are losing thousands in both stolen merchandise and carrier basket costs. Read more at the InquisitR...

Note: Tammy Bruce was a guest on Fox News today and she said that laws like the bag ban are simply 'conditioning' the people to accept more and more government control over their lives. Everyday decisions that once belonged to the individual are now being made by government. It's wake-up time! Read More......

City spending, analytics & setting priorities

John Detweiler has submitted a letter to the editor regarding the City of Corvallis' desire to reopen Fire Station #5. The letter reads:

As I have said many times, there will never be enough money to fund everything. Therefore, we need to set priorities and make choices. Moreover, we need to support those choices with appropriate analytical work.

The City Council is considering reopening fire station five. Yet, the Corvallis Fire Department Response Time Simulation Study, dated April 25, 2012, tells us that we gained an average ten seconds in EMS response time and lost eleven seconds in average fire initial response time when we closed station five - a trivial amount of time. Are we conveniently ignoring this study now?

The Police Department is still trying to justify more officers by saying comparable cities have so many sworn officers per population, therefore Corvallis should have the same number. The underlying assumption being that the demand for service in the comparable cities is equal to that in Corvallis. Nothing is being said about the demand for service in Corvallis that Matrix Consulting Group quantified in 2008. Considering the growth in demand for service because of the OSU expansion, that quantification needs to be updated. Moreover, we need to establish the current relationship between the response time and the number of officers we deploy as I did in 2009 with the Matrix data - see my web site: www.peak.org/~detweij.

Any reduction in, or failure to increase, services will have adverse effects on public safety. But, since we can't afford everything, risk needs to be balanced against costs. That is what good governing is all about.

John H. Detweiler

Read More......

Corvallis bag ban & tax survey

OREGON CATALYST, 3/17/2012 by In the news - Hilex Poly

The Corvallis City Council is considering installing a ban and tax on all shopping bags, both paper and plastic. In exploring options, the City Council has asked for comments from the public in this survey. ✧ Please take a few moments and let the Corvallis City Council know your thoughts on bag bans and taxes on shopping bags. ✧ Hilex believes that the answer lies within common sense legislation that preserves Oregon’s manufacturing and recycling jobs, rather than increasing costs for local residents.  Despite misconceptions, plastic bags are 100% recyclable and made in the U.S., using domestic natural gas and support American jobs.

Read More......

Riparian Issue: Albany poised to act on controversial Goal 5 rules

9/25/2011 - The Albany City Council is poised to act on new land use regulations potentially affecting an estimated 1,000 property owners, but how much depends on the individual case. ✧ The city staff says the changes are intended to protect natural resources such as fish-bearing streams and streamside habitat, along with significant wetlands. Read more at the Democrat Herald... Read More......

City has its eye on your wallet... again

9/16/2011 - The City Council is considering a half-dozen strategies to generate more revenue to pay for government services. Read more at the Corvallis Gazette-Times...
Read More......

Eugene City Council compromises on Pledge of Allegiance

FOXNEWS.COM, 6/28/2011 by Dan Springer (Hat tip: John H. Detweiler) - Compromise on Pledge of Allegiance in Oregon Town Has Some Seeing Red

An Oregon town's City Council voted down a proposal to say the Pledge of Allegiance before every council meeting, but later passed a compromise that seemed to make no one happy. ∴ The approved measure allows the pledge to be recited at just four Eugene City Council meetings a year, those closest to the Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Flag Day. ∴ It was supposed to be simple, but Councilman Mike Clark soon found out when you’re dealing with God and country, nothing in Eugene is easy. Read more at Fox...

Read More......

Detweiler submits another letter to the editor regarding levy

Via email: 4/27/2011 - John H. Detweiler submitted another letter to the editor (untitled) regarding the Corvallis Local Option Levy 02-74:

The levy that will appear on the May ballot will not solve our financial problem. What it will do is restore cuts that have been made to lower priority services - the Osborn Aquatic Center is the lowest priority service -- leaving the cuts to higher priority services stand. If the levy passes, next year we will be told that if we want higher priority services - fire and police - funded, we will have to pay more taxes. Details on priorities can be found at www.peak.org/~detweij.

Our problem is that expenditures have been above revenues in property tax funds since FY07-08 and we are running out of reserves. We knew that this was going to happen many years before it did happen but we did not do anything about it. If the levy passes, it really won't give us an opportunity to decide how to reshape our city government because the City Council won't take that opportunity because we don't elect people to the City Council who will say "NO". Our City Council has to be pressured to make good financial decisions and voting against the levy will increase that pressure.

Join me and others who worry about the financial sustainability of our wonderful city in voting against the levy - entitled Local Option Levy 02-74.

John H. Detweiler; web page => www.peak.org/~detweij

Read More......

Tax Levy 02-74 Discussed at City Club

CORVALLIS TIDBITS, 4/11/2011 - "Monday April 11th the Corvallis City Club hosted a forum on the proposed tax Levy, measure 02-74, scheduled for a vote on May 17, 2011. John Detweiler, statistician and former candidate for Corvallis City Council presented the case for voting no on Measure 02-74. Karyle Butcher, Corvallis Budget Commission member and retired Oregon State University Librarian, presented the case for voting yes on Measure 02-74." Read more at Corvallis TidBits...

John Detweiler spoke at the Benton County AFP Special Community Meeting tonight and he will repeat his presentation for the Benton County Republican Women on Monday, April 25th. Read More......

Letter: City government’s costs, spending have run amok

CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES/OPINION, 12/22/2010, Letter submitted by Eldon Carr - City government’s costs, spending have run amok.

Jean Nelson comments: Thanks to the Corvallis Gazette-Times for printing Mr. Carr's excellent letter to the editor. Most people don't realize how government operates... take last year's budget and ask for increases above last year's spending, rather than deciding what can be cut to make allowances for what's necessary for the coming year. The public must insist that our city and state policy makers stop deceiving the public in order to grow government. Read More......

GT: City Council passes 3 of 5 green fees

A divided Corvallis City Council on Monday approved three of five proposed sustainability fees, including a transportation fee to make bus service free to riders, a fee that would make sidewalk maintenance the burden of the city and a fee to help maintain public trees. Read more at the Gazette-Times...

How many new green fees did your Councilor vote for?

Ward 1, Councilor Mark O'Brien: 0 of 4
Ward 2, Councilor Patrica Daniels: 2 of 4
Ward 3, Councilor Richard Hervey: 2 of 4
Ward 4, Councilor Dan Brown: 2 of 4
Ward 5, Councilor Mike Beilstein: 4 of 4
Ward 6, Councilor Joel Hirsch: 3 of 4
Ward 7, Councilor Jeanne Raymond: 3 of 4
Ward 8, Councilor David Hamby: 0 of 4
Ward 9, Councilor Hal Brauner: 4 of 4 Read More......

Letter regarding Andrew M. Martin land use & the City

Letter to the Editor submitted to the Corvallis Gazette-Times by John H. Detweiler:

On 12/21/09, the City Council voted unanimously to uphold the Land Development Hearings Board's decision to uphold the Community Development Director's interpretation and application of Land Development Code (LDC) provisions and the determination of violation for development activity at the property located at: 5700 SW Reservoir Avenue, subject to the adoption of Formal Findings and Order.

However, the issue in the Andrew M. Martin affair is not whether or not Mr. Martin followed the LDC. The issue is whether or not Corvallis would be better off if Mr. Martin were allowed to develop his land the way he wants to develop it.

Quoting from the Corvallis LDC section 1.1.10.02: "The City Council has the following powers... b. May adopt, amend, supplement, or repeal the text of any provisions or regulations ... or the boundaries of zones established on the Official Zoning Map." Plans of any kind have a tendency to be overtaken by events and need to be changed. Corvallis would be better off if the Council had changed the zoning to allow Mr. Martin to develop his land the way he wants to develop it. Our City Council did not exercise its power to make Corvallis a better place and chose instead to stick with a plan that it should have changed.

John H. Detweiler; web page => www.peak.org~detweij

GT Article: The last straw Read More......

LETTER: (Council punts on 2010-11 budget)

LETTER TO THE EDITOR (Submitted to the Corvallis Gazette-Times, 2/17/2010 by John H. Detweiler) - In the February 17th Gazette-Times we were treated to an above-the-fold article telling us that the Corvallis City Council is punting on the 2010-11 budget. The Council is going to proceed with programs such as community sustainability and give proportional cuts to police and fire. ∴ Sooner or later, Corvallis is going to have to establish priorities and make choices. This will not be a pleasant experience; but there is no other choice. The alternatives are for us to not fund basic services (e.g. police and fire) or for all of us to ride our own hobbyhorses all the way to bankruptcy. ∴ The purpose of local government is to provide quality services to the most people possible with the money that is available.

To establish priorities, we need to know how often citizens use the services provided and what their perceptions are of the relative quality of these services. I estimated service usage and relative perceptions of quality with the raw data collected for the 2009 Corvallis Citizens Attitude Survey. My analysis can be found at http://www.peak.org/~detweij.

Services that are used more often should receive more funds. Tax money should flow to the services that are used the most often by the most people where the quality can be improved and users cannot be identified in a cost effective manner. Where the users can be cost effectively identified, user fees should be imposed to recoup the cost of these services.

To continue on our present path is foolhardy.

John H. Detweiler Read More......

LETTER: On buying local

Corvallis Gazette-Times: Letters to the Editor, 6/17/2009 by John Detweiler

Buying local is not always the best deal for Corvallis (June 17) - The Corvallis City Council seems to be discussing sustainability a great deal these days. However, before the council forces costly programs or regulations on the voter, the council may wish to find out what the voters actually think before doing so. ∴ I suggest that spin-free questions be asked in the next citizen attitude survey that addresses the benefits and costs to individual voters of specific actions in the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition (CSC) action plan.

One of the CSC goals is to encourage people to buy from local firms. However, if local firms cannot compete with non-local firms, the voter will incur additional costs if they buy locally.

If Oregon State University is forced to buy from local firms at higher prices, someone will pay those extra costs. A question should address the marginal costs a voter is willing to incur for the marginal benefits of buying locally.

Another CSC goal is to revive Corvallis watersheds to conditions that provide healthy habit supporting reproducing populations of cold-water native fish.

A question should address the costs of providing that habitat. Will the taxpayer, or the people living next to these streams, be willing to incur the costs of improving the streams?

It appears to me that the council is assuming that the CSC speaks for all the voters in Corvallis. We need to find out if that is true.

John H. Detweiler
Corvallis Read More......