Petition Filed Against Funding Move for Clallam Economic Development Council
A petition has been filed against Clallam County ordinance 898, under which the county could draw $500,000 from its Opportunity Fund in order to help the Economic Development Council hire more staff.
There was a lengthy public hearing last month on ordinance 898, during which nobody spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. Undeterred by the lowly public, County Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach voted in favor of ordinance 898; Mike Chapman voted against it.
The petition was filed by former Clallam County Commissioner Ron Richards, who wants ordinance 898 to be subjected to a vote of the people. He said:
“It isn’t a question of funding the Economic Development Council. It’s a question of who is going to provide input on where this money goes. Is it just going to be Jim McEntire? Or is it going to be representatives from Forks and Sequim and the Port of Port Angeles? I think it’s better to have the latter. That’s what the issue is.”
And:
“Something is wrong here. It is apparent that input in a statutorily required public hearing means nothing to Commissioners McEntire and Peach. Neither does input from the Opportunity Fund Board that is done away with by this ordinance. Keeping the Opportunity Fund Board is an important step towards maintaining an open government and preserving the financial well being of the county. The alternative proposed by Commissioner McEntire is to have a private corporation of which he is the chair, and that is not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act or the Public Records Act, do the planning and spend the money. That is not a good alternative.”
There was a lengthy public hearing last month on ordinance 898, during which nobody spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. Undeterred by the lowly public, County Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach voted in favor of ordinance 898; Mike Chapman voted against it.
The petition was filed by former Clallam County Commissioner Ron Richards, who wants ordinance 898 to be subjected to a vote of the people. He said:
“It isn’t a question of funding the Economic Development Council. It’s a question of who is going to provide input on where this money goes. Is it just going to be Jim McEntire? Or is it going to be representatives from Forks and Sequim and the Port of Port Angeles? I think it’s better to have the latter. That’s what the issue is.”
And:
“Something is wrong here. It is apparent that input in a statutorily required public hearing means nothing to Commissioners McEntire and Peach. Neither does input from the Opportunity Fund Board that is done away with by this ordinance. Keeping the Opportunity Fund Board is an important step towards maintaining an open government and preserving the financial well being of the county. The alternative proposed by Commissioner McEntire is to have a private corporation of which he is the chair, and that is not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act or the Public Records Act, do the planning and spend the money. That is not a good alternative.”
posted by Tom Harper at 10:05 AM
7 Comments:
Thanks for posting this, Tom.
McEntire keeps saying this is all about "stream lining" the process. After all the years, and all the money that local governments have spent on the EDC, with little to show for it, what is the hurry?
In fact, with such a poor track record of producing any beneficial results, it would seem the EDC would welcome all the input it can get. Not shut out the public by eliminating the Public Advisory Board of the EDC.
With such a poor track record of performance, it seems the EDC needs MORE open-ness and transparency, more independent oversight of what it does, not the closed shop that McEntire is trying to change it to.
"Streamlining" is ALWAYS about control by exclusion. Watch for it.
I'm fine changing the EDC to a closed shop. Literally, let's close it.
And "streamlining" usually doesn't need a half million dollar increase. (Is that yearly?)
Hahahahaha
The half million is from the county alone. Mr. Greenwood is the head of it these days, and he was over in Sequim recently trying to get them to give him money, too. Port Angeles, the Port, Forks, and who else?
Economic development for who?
Great to see Chapman stand up and speak the truth.
Thanks!
EDC is NOT a public entity. It should not be funded, let it find it's own money, hey, maybe MAKE money on it's own. Its a cash grab by a bunch of greedy jerks. What have they EVER done for anyone, aside from themselves and their buddies?
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