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Page 19 of 23 <br />back of some other vehicle and the lawyer looks at the maintenance log and says ‘Oh, jeez, standard <br />maintenance procedures aren’t being done on County equipment and this particular one hasn’t had its <br />brakes checked’ or whatever it is, the County’s wide open. You know, particularly with like hazardous <br />wastes, and that’s just one small part of the whole responsibility of the Fire Department. One that this <br />particular fireman is intimately familiar with and so he didn’t want any part of it. And I guess there are <br />some, how should we say, discrimination issues in terms of if there were a study done to see who, how <br />long people of various ethic backgrounds, how long it takes to get promotions and the make up of, say, <br />the officers of the Fire Department relative to the general population, that the whole County Fire <br />Department and who’s ever supposed to be overseeing it could be taken to court on that basis alone <br />according to federal law. And you know, I don’t have intimate understanding and I expect you’ll get <br />communications from this, and maybe other firemen that I know, detailing this in greater detail. So I’m <br />not really qualified to say but I do see the need, just from the newspaper articles about good oversight <br />and I do worry about hazardous materials. Having an accident or a spill on the highway and having <br />proper procedures in place and people who are knowledgeable of the law and knowledgeable how to <br />handle hazardous materials. So it’s a health issue and I don’t know whether a Fire Commission is going <br />to solve that oversight problem but something has to give somehow. <br />RAY: Okay. Mr. Bess. <br />BESS: Yes, on your point on the Water Commission. As I understand it, on the Manager of the Water <br />Department, the Council would be the supervising body of that Manager, is that right? So they would <br />actually be engaged in administration. <br />BOCHE: No. I think I’m proposing that the Water Commission be appointed by the County Council. <br />BESS: Okay. <br />BOCHE: And so - <br />BESS: And then you talked about the article in the Charter that said that the Water Manager was under <br />the Mayor and you had a difficulty with that. You’d prefer that he be under the Council or did I hear <br />you? <br />BOCHE: Well, it’s the whole Water Department. The Department of Water Supply. <br />BESS: Department of Water Supply. It would be under the supervision of the County Council? <br />BOCHE: Yes and I’m not quite sure how that would work except that the - yes, I’m not sure how that <br />would work. <br />BESS: And I don’t want to be imperious because I just want to understand. With regard to the other <br />Commissions that would be appointed under your proposal that they be appointed by the Council <br />Member of that district, that that department also would be under the supervision of the Council? <br />BOCHE: I haven’t looked at it. I don’t know the best way to administer the Water and Liquor <br />Commission or the Police Commission. I haven’t really thought it through on each and every one but I <br />know with the Water Commission there’s a problem, with the Planning Commission there’s problem, <br />with representation and diversity. I don’t know that there is a problem in those areas with the Liquor <br />Commission. I mean I don’t know what they do even. <br />file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 7-7-99.html7/1/2011 <br /> <br />