Congratulations to the New Mayor, my thoughts and my concerns

Well the results are in and Cy Sun is going to be the next Mayor for the City of Pacific. It is a result that I pray does not come back to haunt the citizens of this great city.  Over the past eight years our city has come a long way and I am proud of what we have accomplished.  When Mr. Sun takes office in January it will be in much better shape than when I took office.  In spite of a 20% increase in population and an 18% CPI increase the General Fund proposed for 2011 is less than 2% higher than it was in 2002.  We now have a reserve fund of over $½ million where we had millions of dollars of debt in 2004.  I am proud of the fiscal shape our city is in. 

Elections have consequences and I know our city will already lose some clout regionally.  Because of our reputation and can do attitude we have been very successful in pursuing grants.  Because of the willingness of our staff and our many volunteers we have been able to increase many services in spite of shrinking budgets.  In spite of what the campaign against me stated, our city has been an example of what government should be.

I will remain dedicated to this city.  I plan on continuing public education classes in emergency preparedness.  I plan on staying involved as a volunteer as my only motivation has been to serve our citizens and to make Pacific a safer place to live.  I plan on continuing teaching emergency management for FEMA as well.  We no longer live in a world where elected leaders can sit back and ignore the risk our communities face.  They must be proactive and dedicated to building stronger programs.

As I have long said, when God closes one door he will open others.  Although I am disappointed in losing to negative campaigning and the deception of our citizens, I know that as the truth comes out the public will see the mistake that was made.  I pray that mistake does not prove to be fatal to our city.

Happy Thanksgiving

As we celebrate Thanksgiving let's take a moment to reflect on everything we are thankful for.  First I would be remiss if I did not thank the 400 voters who asked for me to serve another term as Mayor as well as the many more who have come forward since after learning you were lied to by one of my opponents. I am proud to be Mayor of this community and will always put community ahead of politics.

I am thankful for all of those volunteers in our community, from Pacific Partnerships to the White River Valley Lions.  I am thankful to the volunteers who serve our Citizens at the Senior Center and Youth programs, it is your dedication to serving others that inspires me and keeps me going.  It is those individuals who go that extra mile, spend that extra minute to help someone, do something right because it is the right thing to do, not because someone is looking.  These are the people I am thankful for.

It is not your father's Pacific

Every year, when we hold public hearings on setting the property tax rate and the budget for the following year, we can always expect people getting up and complaining we should be looking to cut spending and not raise taxes. This is an understandable opinion, but at least in Pacific it is one that ignores many facts.  This is a much different world than it was even a few short years ago.

First it should be pointed out that under the previous mayor (who happens to be one of the first people to complain) spending was much higher (when adjusted for inflation) than under my administration.  Ordinance 1513 which set the budget for 2002 established expenditures of $3,009,716 in the General Fund.  The mayor’s proposed budget for 2012 is $3,105,125 in spite that Pacific has seen almost a 20% increase in population and a CPI increase of nearly 18%.  There are many changes in State Law as well that have had a dramatic impact.

One of the more dramatic changes that have impacted local budgets was the passage of the Streamlined Sales Tax in 2007.  This changed where sales taxes were paid from where the business was located to a destination based system.  This reduced revenues to our city by an estimated $150,000 - $200,000 each year.  Although we did get a small amount back in mitigation this typically amounted to about 1/3^rd of what we saw previously.  Our revenues have also been dramatically impacted by the State Model B&O Tax ordinance, reductions in state and federal funding programs such as Community Development Block Grants and funding for Senior Services. Combined with the downturn in the economy our city has been hit over the past few years dramatically.  If it were not for a reserve that we built up since 2004 by being fiscally conservative we would not have been able to provide the same levels of service we have.

So for those who want to complain about taxes being too high I have no problem with listening to your concerns so long as you put everything in proper perspective.  In my administration we have a proven record of keeping taxes as low as possible. We have a proven record of making every penny stretch as far as it can go and of being good stewards of your tax dollars.

Why elected leaders need to get trained in emergency management

As President Bush stated in 2005, Hurricane Katrina exposed a serious breakdown of our emergency management capabilities at all levels of government.  A massive failure occurred at all levels but began with a failure of local policy. Mayor Nagin and other policy leaders did not have an understanding of the true threats, the capabilities of their citizens or responders or the consequences of the lack of planning.  If they had you would not have seen tens of thousands of people evacuated to a building without the capabilities or supplies to serve as a massive shelter.

Putting aside all politics how much different would it have been if these gaps could have been exposed in disaster simulations (actually they were) and strategic training programs developed to close these gaps followed.  When Katrina hit, well prepared officials could have responded quickly and appropriately saving lives and reducing destruction.  Cost could have been kept at a minimum instead of being one of the most costly disasters in history.

Too often elected leaders place emergency preparedness on a back burner to the myriad of issues we face every day.  But what is the cost of us doing this?  When the next disaster strikes will our communities be prepared to respond?  Will we, as leaders, have the needed skills needed to operate under disaster situations?  Does it make sense we what to build those skills before a disaster?  Training is how we can build those skills needed for us to effectively respond to any crisis.

Leadership during a disaster is not something that comes naturally.  Appropriate decision making, critical thinking and crisis leadership is something that must be learned and practiced.  It must include the ability to make mistakes when no one will really get hurt.  It needs to be feedback rich, where we can see firsthand if our decisions were effective and appropriate.  It needs to also be realistic, provided in an environment that matches the intensity, chaos and challenges that the leaders will actually face during disasters.  These are not skills you want someone to learn on the job.  A leader who has lived through realistic simulated crisis is more likely to stay calm, focused and effective in a real crisis.

Many elected officials have developed decision making and leadership skills dealing with everyday events.  However thinking this is enough is like training a pilot by hours in the simulator flying through clear trouble free skies.  They do not learn what to do when an engine fails or when the skies are stormy.  In short they are not prepared to function as they need to during times of crisis.  Elected officials need to learn not only what is appropriate in decision making but what are the possible cascading effects of that decision making?  It is not something you want to just do on the fly.

Another reason elected officials need to train for emergencies is to help them understand the impact of issues that arise during an emergency.  One of the more common issues is use of and managing spontaneous volunteers and donations.  Through the goodness of their hearts people will come out of the woodwork to assist following a disaster.  Are you prepared to deal with this issue?  What are the concerns that need to be addressed?  This is an issue that impacts the leader, not just the staff.  First it is your ultimate responsibility but more importantly it is a reflection on your leadership and management skills.  If you have planned for and respond appropriately the public perception of your management skills will be higher.  If you fail to plan, no matter where the failure actually occurs, you will get the blame.

Communities need elected leaders who have the skills and experience they’ll need in a crisis.  Those leaders need to gain those skills prior to the onset of a crisis. Leaders need to be able to make effective and appropriate decisions rather than fold under pressure.  We need leaders who can assess the capabilities of their community and focus on developing policy that addresses closing gaps and building capacity.  We need leadership that realizes the resources available, makes good use of staff time instead of over delegating and micro managing preparedness efforts.  The key issue in this is the fact it is ultimately the responsibility of the elected officials to prepare.  Ultimately every elected official needs to take the time to get appropriate training. 

The Election may have left me bruised, but my head will not be bowed

The election is over, but it may be until the end of the month before we know who the next Mayor is. Currently I trail write in by a handful of votes but the small increase in votes counted today did not change rpercentages.  We know there are at least 100 votes cast that have not yet been counted, but unless those votes make a dramatic shift in percentages it may not be until they announce who the write in candidates are (people assume they are all for Cy Sun, but that may not be the case either).  Either way the election is too close for my comfort.

 

It has been said that every election has consequences. Pierce County voters found this out a few years back with the County Auditor.  It is my hope that Pacific voters do not regret the outcome of the election because in my opinion Mr. Sun will be a disaster for this community.  He is not qualified to manage this government and if he was to follow through on what he claimed he would do the result would be millions of dollars in lawsuits and legal claims.  My biggest disappointment though is what this election will mean to the future.  Pacific voters allowed negative attacks by a disgruntled businessman to influence an election. I would predict that we will only see elections in our future get worse than this one was.

 

As for my plans, my immediate goal is to continue the work I have as Mayor now.  To present a balanced budget to the City Council next week and to continue the preparations for this winters flood risk.  I will work with our crews tomorrow to close off two of the four openings in the flood wall at Pacific Park for the winter. Between now and January there is a lot of work that needs to be finished regardless of who will be Mayor in January.  Either way our city is in much better shape than we were in 2004 when I took over.  Then we were in serious debt, had many findings from the State Auditor and had community programs near failure.  These same programs are now not only viable, but have doubled units of service over this past year.  We have had six strait clean audits as well as closed many fiscal loopholes that has increased accountability.  In spite of the fact our entire region is struggling with additional budget cuts, we should finish this year in the black and be on our way to rebuilding the level of reserves required by sound fiscal management.

 

As for my future, I will continue my work in Emergency Management both nationally and regionally.  Although I doubt Mr Sun has an interest in taking over on preparedness for our city, my plans would be to find third parties to work through to still protect this city.  I made a personal promise to myself and our community and have no interest in abandoning our citizens and our community.  I will continue my work on my Master Trainer Practicum (similar to a Masters Thesis) which is writing a 16 hour training program on the elected official's role in emergency management.  This is one of the largest gaps in our Nation's overall preparedness and I am proud to be one of the people working on addressing this issue.

 

By Friday we should have the majority of the remaining ballots counted.  There should be an additional 300 votes to count yet and it would only take a 5% shift in percentages of the remaining ballots for me to catch up.  Either way I can hold my head high for running a clean campaign, always holding myself accountable to our community and for what I have accomplished as your Mayor.  My only regret would be that my defeat was caused by twisting of the truth.  As will always be a fact, there is no corruption in City Hall and no matter how the facts are twisted, those that know me know the truth.

Pacific Community Work Project

On Saturday, November 5^th, an example of how community works will be demonstrated in the City of Pacific. The front porch belonging to a sweet lady who has been an active volunteer in this city for many years is rotting out and needs to be replaced.  Thanks to a generous donation by Commercial Metals, one of Pacific’s businesses, volunteers are now able to completely rebuild her front porch as a thank you to her years of service.  This is how communities are supposed to work.

Some people refer to it as the old country attitude where the neighbor’s barn burns down and the entire town shows up to build a new one.  Some people have commented it was the same values they learned in the military that you always support one another and that the sum is greater than the individual.  Whatever you want to call it, I am proud it is alive and well in the City of Pacific.

Starting at 9 am, volunteers will tear out the old porch, temporarily supporting the roof, and replace the structure from the ground up.  In addition to being Mayor, I have worked for over 30 years in construction and will be there myself, tool belt and all.  Anyone who wishes to help there will be all types of work available from helping clear the area of debris and the old porch to the actual construction.  Just bring work gloves, basic hand tools if you have them and my appreciation for everyone helping someone who has been a big part of this community. Donations of Snacks and Coffee will always be appreciated as well.

The address is 133 3^rd Ave SW, approximatly ¼ mile west of City Hall.

For more information please contact Mayor Rich Hildreth at Pacificmayor@aol.com or by Cell Phone at 253-261-9853

PS:  The donation of $500.00 by Commercial Metals Incorporated, Located on Frontage Road will be used to purchase all material needed for this project.  The receipts and any balance will be given to the Pacific Community Services fund through its partner Pacific Partnerships.