Time to Throw Your Hat in the Ring!

Are you thinking of running for local office?  I hope so!  There are 5 seats open this year: 2 Assembly members and 2 school board members for 3 year terms, and 1 school board member for a 2-year term.

You can declare your candidacy for any seat starting July 9  through the end of the work-day July 27. Naturally, there are forms to fill out.  Four forms.  Two prepared locally and two  by the state.  The local forms are a declaration of candidacy, and a nominating petition. The state forms are a public official financial disclosure form, and a campaign finance form. Click on “Candidate Filing Period July 9-27” from the home page of the new Borough website at www.hainesalaska.gov for details and forms.

So, what is this job of local elected official all about?  Well, it might be the most challenging job you’ll ever have – and the lowest paying!  But it’ll probably be among the most interesting and rewarding too.

The job will ask you to be:

·      a model of civility and cooperation;

·      an educator and interpreter of public opinion;

·      a leader bringing people together and building trust.

Moving through your term, you will learn about local government, the local school district, local law, and finance.  Sometimes you will feel like you just signed up for a three-year degree!

It is true that, if elected, life, as you know it will change:

·      Wherever you are, whenever you are there, someone will probably approach to talk about roads, taxes, or government services. This happens in local politics because unlike elected officials at the state and federal level, local officials rub shoulders with the people who elected them everywhere, all the time.  You meet the people who elected you on a daily basis. 

·      You’ll spend a lot of time attending meetings, not only municipal meetings but regional and statewide ones as well. You’ll also spend a lot of time preparing for them, reading the material that needs to be read in order to make an informed decision in the course of the meeting.

  

When you are elected, you will draw upon skills you already have and skills you never knew you had or even wished you had! Your new job might require you to: 

·      Facilitate meetings, speak to the press, respond to citizens who are sometimes upset or angry, and testify before legislative committees.  

·      Make decisions on everything from who to hire as the next manager, to which bid  to accept for paving the roads, to how to pay for solid waste disposal, or whether to join with other towns in a regional approach to providing for services.

You will work hard on behalf of the community and we will all be glad you do! Please consider filing for the opportunity July 9 through July 27. Thank you.

Financial Disclosure: Local Law or State Law?

The Haines Borough Assembly has scheduled the second hearing of an ordinance to place the question of adopting local Haines Borough Financial Disclosure laws and penalties and exempting candidates and municipal officers from state financial disclosure laws before the voters on October 2, 2012. The public hearing will be on the July 10 Assembly agenda.

When the Assembly met in February to do some strategic planning, the list of initiatives to undertake included re-visiting the Alaska Public Offices Commission's (APOC) financial disclosure requirements for municipal candidates and officials. Assembly members had learned that the state requirement to report sources and total income more than $1000.00 might be a deterrent to filing for elected positions, contributing perhaps to the fact that last year no one at all filed for one of the vacant seats on the School Board.

The question of exemption from AS 39.50 has been before the Haines voters twice before, and failed both times.  Seeking success this time around, the Government Affairs and Services committee has reworded the question to emphasize that local requirements and penalties for failing to comply will be established and enforced concomitant with the exemption of local officials and officers from the state requirements. 

If the ordinance is passed on July 10, the question on the ballot will read:

Shall the Haines Borough adopt Haines Borough financial disclosure laws requiring disclosure of financial and business interests; establish penalties for failure to comply with local financial disclosure laws; and exempt municipal officials and election candidates from the requirement of the Alaska Financial Disclosure law (AS 39.50)?

Voter consent will no doubt depend on voter confidence in the local requirements and penalties spelled out in the local law.  That law is still in draft form.  It may come before the Assembly at the July 10th meeting.  The draft that has been reviewed by the GAS committee raises the level of income to report from $1000.00 to $5000.00.  This is the major change from the state law. If you are interested in taking a look at the draft law, please email me and I will send you a copy.

According to the Alaska Municipal League, there are 140 cities, boroughs, and unified municipalities in Alaska.  According to the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), 102 or 73% have voted to exempt themselves from the Public Official Financial Disclosure Requirements under AS 39.50. You just have to ask why.  Maybe those communities also had trouble raising a slate of candidates for their local offices.

I have been examining the municipal codes for communities that have voted to exempt themselves from the state financial disclosure regulations.  I looked at the codes for the most recently exempted municipalities:

• Aleutians East Borough, 2011;
• Seldovia, 2010;
• City of Fairbanks, 2009;
• Delta Junction, 2008;
• City of Kenai, 2008;
• City of Ketchikan, 2008;
• City and Borough of Sitka, 2008;

and for a couple of municipalities somewhat similar to Haines in size and culture:

• Cordova, 1975;
• Craig, 1976.

Of this group, the City of Kenai and the City of Ketchikan seem to be the only two municipalities that require candidates and officials to file an actual financial disclosure form. Their requirements are similar to those proposed in the law under consideration for Haines.  If the Haines law is adopted, Haines candidates and municipal officials will also still have to file a disclosure form. Neither the local nor the state form are confidential. Both can be viewed by the public, though not on line. This condition has been established by the state, and mirrored by the municipality, to deter identity theft.

The balance of the municipalities I studied have codes of ethics and provisions for disclosure of a conflict of interest in the case of substantial financial interest in a matter. These provisions are very similar to those in the Haines Borough Code and Charter (HBC 2.06 Code of Ethics; HB Charter Article XVIII, Section 18.01.). If the local law is adopted by the voters, the public's interest in the impartiality of its municipal officers and elected officials will be doubly insured: by our sturdy conflict of interest and ethics requirements as well as the requirement to file a disclosure statement annually with the Borough Clerk.

Borough Will Facilitate NOAA Teleconference on Connelly Lake

In response to requests from Haines residents, the Borough will makes its teleconference equipment available for the Tuesday, June 26, 9-noon meeting at NOAA in Juneau.  The teleconference line is not a toll-free line, but the Borough will absorb the minimal cost ($18.00 estimate) for the 3-hour long connection.

In setting setting this link up, Glen Martin, Project Manager with Alaska Power & Telephone Company, explained the purpose of the Juneau meeting and requested that Haines listen in, reserving comments for the public meeting in Haines the following evening.  Mr. Martin writes

This meeting is meant for the resource agencies to discuss this project in a focused way and is therefore not meant for a full discussion with public involvement. I hope those members of the public that listen in will respect this and allow the agency meeting to proceed without interruption (email to Stephanie Scott, June 21, 2012.)

The Haines public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 27, at the ANB Hall, 6-8 PM.

Sufficiency/Insufficiency of Public Comment During Assembly Meetings

Is there sufficient opportunity for the public to be "heard" during Assembly deliberations?  The answer to that question could be subjective and probably depends on the topic. It also depends on what being "heard" might be taken to mean.

So let's let that lie for the moment and try to answer the question: What are the opportunities for the public to be heard during an Assembly meeting? This is an easier question, though I understand that the answer might not be satisfying. Just to be clear, I'd like to put those opportunities "on the table" so we are all on the same page regarding  the status quo. Then in a second post I will discuss the more subjective question: what does it mean to be "heard" and is the opportunity to be "heard" sufficient.

There are opportunities opportunities to be heard specifically outlined on the Agenda, and then there are opportunities that the Assembly and the Chair can manage through the rules outlined in Chapter 2.10 of the Haines Borough Code, Assembly Procedures.

First - the Agenda:

The Assembly agenda specifically provides two opportunities for a member of the public to speak to the Assembly about any topic whatsoever. The first comes at the beginning of the meeting and is listed on the agenda as: PUBLIC COMMENTS [Any topics not scheduled for public hearing]. The last comes at the end of the meeting and is listed simply as PUBLIC COMMENTS.

In-between, the Agenda also lists PUBLIC HEARINGS for Ordinances.  The public may also speak to Resolutions. Although not specifically listed for public hearing,  Haines Borough Code 2.12.110 Resolutions – Reading – Hearing – Final passage – Posting (B) requires that

"all persons interested who appear shall be given an opportunity to be heard. After such hearing, the assembly may finally pass such resolution with or without amendments."

Sounds like a public hearing to me!   

So, at our most recent meeting June 12, there were 14 standard opportunities for public comment or for the public "to be heard."

Next - Assembly rules.

First of all, it is the case the the presiding officer can make a rule more or less on the spot, for the moment, but any such rule making is a function of the statutory obligation to "...preserve order and decorum among the assembly members" and spectators;  and the responsibility "... for the conduct of all meetings in compliance with the rules of the assembly."  

HBC 2.10.010 Procedures of the assembly.

A. The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the assembly. The mayor shall preserve order and decorum among the assembly members and is responsible for the conduct of all meetings in compliance with the rules of the assembly. The mayor may at any time make such rules as the mayor deems proper to preserve order among the spectators in the assembly chambers during sessions of the assembly.

I lean on this section of code when I ask people to speak within a time frame, to speak to the topic, to try for a civil tone, and even in some cases, to not speak, if it is not time for that according to the Agenda and rules.

Assembly members can engage the public outside of a public hearing, but there is a rule.  Here it is:

HBC 2.10.050 E. Asking Questions. After obtaining recognition from the chair, a member may ask direct questions of another member of the assembly or to a person appearing before the assembly. The questions may not be argumentative.

I am sure you have seen this rule in practice.  An Assembly person raises their hand, then says, "Through the Chair, may I ask.... a question?" The answer is almost invariably, "Yes."Although the Assembly is provided with as much information as possible pertinent to the topics on the agenda, there is always the possibility that some one in the audience will be in possession of a key to the puzzle.  The key to the ability to follow this rule is to understand the difference between questions that are for information and questions that are argumentative. Rhetorical questions are usually argumentative. I can't know the nature of the question before it is posed, but it is my job to call a halt to the interaction if it is "argumentative." I am not sure I have ever had to interrupt a question/answer situation, but I am alert to the possibility. It is a "hot spot" for me!

Rules are important.  We follow them because they help us be efficient and civil. Civility is one of the foundations of resolution.  But no set of rules can fit all situations, so we have a rule for that! It is called "Suspension of the Rules."

HBC 2.10.050 Assembly rules – Amendment, suspension and violation.

B. The borough assembly rules and order of business shall be observed in all cases, unless suspended temporarily for a special purpose by a vote of the majority of assembly members present. Any member may move at any time for the suspension of any rule, and such motion must be seconded to entitle it to consideration.

So, should a member of the Assembly wish to have a public hearing on a topic on the Agenda that is not scheduled for a public hearing, that member could move to suspend the rules for that purpose (i.e. hold a public hearing on topic x).  If the majority of the Assembly agrees, then so be it.

Weatherized and Efficienct = SAVINGS!

The University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) recently published study of the State of Alaska Home Energy Rebate program estimates that households have saved $22 million.  Read a synopsis of the report in the Alaska Journal of Commerce or download the full report from the ISER site.  Scroll down to the middle of the page where it says "Snapshot: The Home Energy Rebate Program."  According to the Snapshot:

The researchers found, among other things, that the roughly 16,500 Alaska homeowners who have been through the program since 2008 are saving an estimated average of 26% on their heating bills, and that every $1 million in state spending for the program creates 12 Alaska jobs.

Announcing - Energy Award!

In honor of our local Earth Day celebration today, I am announcing the Mayor's Energy Award.

The Haines Borough Mayor’s  Energy Award

The Haines Borough Mayor will offer an Energy Award annually.  The first awardee will be announced at the spring Earth Day Event, 2013.  The award will honor innovation and actions in two categories: (A) energy conservation and efficiency that  substantially reduces the cost of energy and (B)  installations of renewable energy technology to replace or significantly supplement energy supplied by fossil-based fuels.

All Haines Borough residents, including Borough employees, officers, and elected officials, are eligible to receive the award.  People may nominate themselves or may be nominated by someone.  Businesses and non-profit groups are also encouraged to participate.

The Energy Award will include a check for $100 funded from the Mayor's discretionary funds, a framed Mayoral proclamation describing the contribution of the awardee.

All applicants will be showcased in a publication prepared by the Mayor’s office celebrating the local commitment to energy conservation, efficiency, and utilization of renewable energy sources. 

Examples of projects may include installation of energy efficient heating systems, lighting retrofits, weatherization projects, energy generation systems using solar, wind, biomass, hydro, or geothermal technology.

Nomination forms and instructions will available at the Haines Borough Administration Building, online at the Haines Borough website.  The nomination period is open until January 31, 2013.  Completed nomination forms can be dropped off at the Haines Borough Administration Building, or emailed or mailed to the Mayor at the Haines Borough:

MAYOR
103 Third Avenue S.
P.O. BOX 1209
HAINES, ALASKA 99827
PH - (907) 766-2231

sscott@haines.ak.us

Working the Case, Not the Clock

Depending on our interests, different details draw us in.  I am grateful that Tracy Mikowski's abiding interest in both domestic and wild animals drew her to the abandoned seal pup early Wednesday morning.  Mikowski and HARK executive director Steve Vick took no notice of the time when they started running down the resources needed to respond to the pup's situation. 

In my short tenure as Mayor, I have had the opportunity to observe this un-sung trait in borough employee after borough employee.   Thank you.

You can follow the rehabilitation of the pup at the Seward Sea Life Center.  The photos are great!