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minutes 03-18-00Page 17 of 27
<br />whole issue, I think. If the Commission doesn’t have any power, number 1 and foremost, to establish rates and financing
<br />capital improvement projects, we’re not really much better off than we are now. We just added a new Department Head,
<br />which obviously, I guess I should have mentioned that, the need is great. The Chief Engineer of the Department of Public
<br />Works has a tremendous responsibility, and I’ll be speaking on that also. And I think the Department of Public Works has
<br />just grown too much. With all the new regulations from EPA and all, I think it’s very appropriate to have a new department,
<br />but this department should have the power. The way you’re proposing it, it’s just a separate -
<br />RAY: Well, it is proposed as an advisory Commission to be another layer of input in regard to this issue, but I guess the call
<br />was we didn’t feel it was politically -
<br />BOUCHER: Well, that’s the big -
<br />RAY: There’s a lot of sympathy for moving that whole function over, so I guess we’re looking at this as more of an
<br />intermediate step in getting there vs. -
<br />BOUCHER: You could be correct there because that’s the one bug-a-boo. It’s almost a defacto tax increase, if it was a
<br />separate Commission that had the right to establish rates, particularly in regard to solid waste because wastewater, we’re
<br />independent now for the most part. We fund ourselves notwithstanding capital improvements.
<br />RAY: So it would be a Commission more to address that situation and a forum to engage the public and, hopefully, move
<br />them in that direction and get more acceptance and a more responsible attitude towards all of us being responsible for our
<br />contribution to the waste stream. But our feeling was that we’re not ready to go there yet.
<br />BOUCHER: Yes, you could be right because I think it might not pass if -
<br />RAY: And as you’re well aware, Charter Amendments can be made three ways; by petition, by the Charter Commission
<br />every 10 years making recommendations, but any Council person, and prompted by the Administration, can put a Charter
<br />Amendment on the ballot at any election.
<br />IRVINE: But it takes a two-thirds vote.
<br />RAY: So, it’s not that you have to wait ten years. When I was on the County Council, I proposed a Charter Amendment
<br />which was on the ballot the last election. So in other words, if we wanted to move the Commission sooner rather than later
<br />into that function, and it still would be a Charter Amendment, and would still have to be voted on by the public so our
<br />thought is that it certainly is not something that has to wait ten years to get there if that’s where the Council feels like they
<br />want to move this. Obviously, the dynamics are very different from us being comfortable making recommendations and the
<br />Council County, so I certainly recognize the politics of all that. In other words, it’s politically easier for us to make proposed
<br />amendments than it is for the Council in a lot of cases and this would certainly be one of them.
<br />BOUCHER: Actually, in that light, I think I see where you’re coming from.
<br />IRVINE: Can I add one more thing? We had thought about taking ‘advisory’ out in the top paragraph of our statement. Even
<br />though it still would be advisory, we were thinking that putting it in the Charter would give it a little more emphasis than the
<br />way things have been now, with a Committee Ad Hoc set up that isn’t mentioned in the Charter, that if you have a
<br />Commission established by Charter, that it would therefore give it a little more weight than Commissions that the Mayor can
<br />just appoint and ignore at their own discretion.
<br />BOUCHER: And there doesn’t appear - Oh, it does say - I take that back - regarding the geographic distribution of the
<br />Commission. Okay, in light of - I think I see where you’re coming from, so I agree with that.
<br />Item number 9, Safety Coordinator. This is a very important issue, particularly in wastewater safety. It’s a very dangerous
<br />environment that we work in, and I think by having a Safety Coordinator who is hired based on his qualifications rather than
<br />by a political appointment, I think would be a strong - not meaning any disrespect to our current Safety Coordinator, but I
<br />think, in general, just having somebody who is hired based on his qualifications would be a very strong help to the County,
<br />and I strongly support that item.
<br />And lastly, item number 11, Qualifications, the Head of the Department of Public Works and Water Supply. I don’t think I
<br />can say anything more than what has been said by Milton Pavao and Curt Beck -
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