So was it a "crowdsourcing" or "truth-finding" matrix?

I had to call the water bureau yesterday. The poor man I talked to sounded SO unhappy. He said it was "just awful" there right now. I truly feel sorry for the folks on the front lines who answer the phones, change the billings, and meet the public. What an awful place to work. Unless you work for the building permit department, that might be worse.

This represents quite a breakthrough in Sam-speak:

"As a result, millions of dollars in contract savings give us the opportunity to reprogram funding for Green Streets investments.”

We have moved beyond "repurposing" and we are now "reprograming."

So, of the following list of things that can be done with surplus revenue:

• Capital investment in necessary water and sewer infrastructure
• Paying down debt
• Investment in lower rates
• Savings for future (rainy-day fund)
• Transfer of funds to political boondoggle

They choose the last one?

Isn't it also funny that we hear on the same day that BES is going to start cracking heads on multifamily housing that isn't paying their bill, while funds are being transferred out to pay for stupid crap we can't afford, nor want?

I guess if you need a slush fund, the sewer bureau is appropriately named.

As part of the city's reprograming, all local school books will now state that Lewis and Clark arrived here on bicycles.

How about sewer savings getting plowed back into sewer projects? Mind-blowing concept, I know.

And bike-path/bioswales don't count; there are plenty of creaky, century-old pipes ready to break as soon as a FedEx truck rolls over them that need to be fixed.

SKA, I think you meant "ground-truthing".

How about a state initiative that requires taxes to be used for the purpose collected. Like fuel taxes to be used for roads for cars and trucks (and I think maybe state parks is already funded from fuel taxes?)

Eric,

Thanks for the correction. There are so many new words in Sam-speak, I need an App to keep them straight.

My middle school students have a new saying..."It's like God gave birth in my mouth" when something tastes really good. Kind of a squirmy image to me, but Sam and his cohorts probably think that every time they conjour up a hip new term to promote "the movement".

"Unless you work for the building permit department, that might be worse."

Nah, BDS is like a graveyard. Randy has to gin up work like the new computers to look at e-files.

We can call Mr Shaft and tell him that arbitrarily raising rates 18% wouldn't fly in the real world. The front-line people are sacrificial lambs for peopel like Randy.

So I didn't really like *need* the boots but they were supercute and now I feel way better about myself and I know everyone will look at me and say OMG those are so cute I want to date her. And they were on sale and I saved $70 so now should I get a facial or pedicure.

Jack, I'm glad you are bringing this fiscal irresponsibility to light. This is not an issue that lends itself to a sexy, easily digestible media friendly sound bite, but it is galling nonetheless. This must be how Sam deals with his personal finances, which ultimately led him to bankruptcy and the threat of foreclosure.

Anyone know if the City of Portland has the equivilent of the Federal Anti-Deficiency Act? If not, it sounds like we need this protection to prohibit the commissioners from moving funds from one pot to another for expenditures not originally contemplated by the taxpayers.

"How about using the found money to cut city residents' outrageous sewer bills?"

We all know that no Portland politician will ever give a dime back to people for any reason.

But are they trying to convince us that the city's sewer system has zero backlog of projects? So there is literally nothing in the pipeline, no deferred maintenance that this can be spent on?

ON A PRODUCTIVE NOTE: Just send a quick email to the City councilors. I sent one to Fish, Fritz and Saltzman on this issue and got two responses. (I don't bother with the other two, because they are basically two different shades of crazy in my opinion.)

Anyway, just google their council web pages. Their direct emails are right there. Just write a straightforward, responsible, plite message registering your opinion, (without sounding like a crank). At the very least, they have an aide noting what type of feedback they're getting on the issue from each side.

Portland Native, that horrible morale is a direct consequence of our commission form of local government. There has to be some buffer between city staff and the whims of individual politicians.

Having the commissioners directly "manage" the departments is a terrible idea.

Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to Mayor Creepy. Why couldn't we get a competent recall campaign? Wake the hell up Portland!

Notice how your reps of Portland and Multnomah county are invisible? They created this mess by making water and sewer rates as " Enterprises", therefore allowing the rate money to be used for other projects,using the sweep method to General Funds. Come the revolution, satisfaction might persevere..

Are we surprised that Adams "plays with the truth"? Fine and dandy if that is what comes naturally to him, but do not do it at our expense!

Reconsider the Recall! I know some people have indicated the recall won't go anywhere, but Adams latest actions are almost a dare to us a this point. I am thinking people are getting aware and this matter may bring more people into participating in the second recall. Perhaps it is why the Adams and the Tribune article appeared so that people would think all is OK and to go on - nothing to see here folks.

Wouldn't our time be best used to collect some signatures rather than tolerate this week by week abuse?

Too bad we cannot get the Feds to frame this kind of activity as theft of honest services and have them bring big white collar crime charges against the lot of 'em.

My fellow readers leave very little else to say on this matter. So, on a personal note I would like to state that while I own a bicycle (decorates the garage) I do not ride it, nor do I intend to. I will not be part of the 20% of trips (stated goal of Mayor Creepy's bike project). I do however poop just like all my fellow citizens including hizzoner, and I expect and demand that my tax dollars support a modern effective sewage collection and treatment infrastructure. Just remember: "Everybody Poops" but not everyone rides a bicycle.

LucsAdvo,
You brought up the subject of feds. I have not done much research, but did find this article.

MIAMI — Miami Budget Director Michael Boudreaux was fired Monday, blamed for a series of questionable multimillion-dollar transfers that helped prop up the city budget but are now central to a federal investigation into the city's financial mess.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/09/90082/as-feds-probe-miamis-finances.html#ixzz0hoIZ9UAm

I guess it shouldn't surprise us that the rest of the City Council today hardly said a word, questioned, or commented on Sam's shenanigans. Fritz asking for a little time to review matters is helpful, but one would think there should be outrage and more than questioning.

Fish's post yesterday on Bojack on how he's fiscal responsible is a joke. Where is our Council when we need them? I hope they listen to the citizen responses in this brief one week reprieve.

Is there an equivalent in Oregon?

http://www.coloradoforethics.org/actions/investigation?page=1
About Colorado Ethics Watch
Colorado Ethics Watch uses high impact legal actions to hold public officials and organizations accountable for unethical activities that undermine the integrity of state and local government.

Fish has apparently decided that his best bet on City Council is to do whatever Sam wants 95% of the time, and hope that the voters re-elect him for the 5% of votes when he decides to disagree. It's a real shame for those of who who supported him with the expectation that he'd be a relatively new voice.

'But he and other bureau leaders are under orders from the mayor to cut budgets.

"Do we cut a program in parks? Do we close a fire station? Do we reduce the number of police officers on the street? I mean, these are terrible choices that we have to make," said Fish.'

No problem expropriating money for the bike plan today, however. Let's close a fire station and build some bioswales!

The City Council is manifestly unqualified for the jobs they hold.

Nick Fish has no backbone. He is more like a squid than a fish. Regular middle class people (like me) are getting priced out of their own homes (mainly due to rising property taxes, public school fees, and water/sewer rates) and all the City Council seems to care about are trains, bikes, and stadiums. To Hell with all of them. I'm moving to Tigard. If I can ever sell my house.

@snards...I couldn't agree with you more! on all points!
God this is too depressing! I need my 5 pm drink.

Would it not be more appropriate to use that extra $20 Million for renting Port-a-Pottys for placement throughout the city during the rainy season, so as to reduce the number of Brown Trout residents set free into the Willamette River every rainy day.

"Adams responded by releasing a matrix."

I don't know what use he had for the poor woman in the first place, but I'm glad he let her go.

Wonder how many millions could be found in the Mayor's office budget if he whacked some of his staff?

Thank you for talking about this. I am barely making it as it is without my water bill going up more or having "savings" not being applied back to lowering the bill. What is going on? I thought govt. was ltd. in what they could do with funding for one thing and it not going to the other thing. What about the TSCC? Is the Auditor going to get on the bus and point this stuff out? This is just completely out of hand. Sam was a staff person, he still is a staff person and he was a bad one at that.

Mister Tee:

Just wanted to let you know that Portland Public Schools' tax rate is $6.53 per $1,000 -- less than the $7.71 Tigard-Tualatin schools tax rate (we don't have a capital bond levy, but they do). I can't speak to the overall tax rates, but wanted you all to know your PPS school taxes actually rank 7th of the 10 largest metro districts.

Read more:
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/news/1763.htm

Sarah Carlin Ames
PPS Public Affairs
sames@pps.k12.or.us

It is amazing but yet expected. It is also amazing yet expected that people here in pdx seem to have given up. I've been waiting awhile for the straw that breaks our backs but have yet to see it. Look at Vera's term. Look at Potter's term - such that it was.

Some issues are paid lip service. Some issues are ignored and ignored. And we elect people who continue to do this. Again, expected. The bench of leaders is pretty thin indeed - and no one seeking office is willing to speak the truth to power.

But that's to be expected, right?

Sarah,

I was referring to the nearly $400/month that we pay for an extra two hours of kindergarten class room time (until 2:15 p.m. each day). You see, we live in a "rich" zip code, so parents have to pay for public school in order to get "full-day" kindergarten.

The house I'm looking at in Tigard is the same size as my Portland house, and is appraised at 1/3 the value. Yet the taxes are less than half what I am paying in Portland. My property taxes have DOUBLED in the 15 years I've lived in the same house. I can't afford to let that happen again.

Water/Sewer and garbage all cost less in Tigard, and I won't have to worry about city/county specific income taxes because their populace would never approve of them.

But first I have to sell my house in Portland. I do appreciate the advocacy you do for PPS, but I'm afraid the deck is stacked against the middle class of Portland: we're better off in the burbs.

Correction: Tigard house is appraised at 2/3 the value of the Portland house (not 1/3, as posted above), but the total tax bill is $3,000 vs. $6,100 in Portland. Both homes are about 1900 square feet livable. The Tigard home sits on a 1/3 acre, while the Portland home sits on a 5,000 square foot lot.

Other Tigard benefits: the neighborhood elementary school is less than 1/3 mile away (and not threatened with closure), middle school is right next door. The main library is brand new, and not full of homeless trying to keep warm. No spangers in front of the grocery stores, restaurants, or banks.