Final Mayor's Comments from Council Meeting

These were my comments from the December 27 meeting

As I step aside as Mayor at the end of this week, it is important that you the City Council step forward and make sure this city does not slip backwards.

Our world and our city are a much different place than they were in 2004.  Most of the funding we used to get from the State and Federal Government to fund roads, fund community service programs and to fund public safety have disappeared to Federal and State Budget Cuts.  The requirements we have as elected officials have changed.  We are now held to a much higher degree of accountability that we were 8 years ago.

It is my hope that instead of letting issues fall through the cracks, that you take it upon yourself to carry on some of the work we have accomplished.  First of those projects is Stewart Road.

When I took office it appeared as if Steward Road was on the verge of being completed.  But along with our change in administration was a change in Pierce County as well.  Gone was the advocate who we had built a positive relationship with at Pierce County and who understood the importance of the commitments made.  I am not going to blame the person who took over for them, but it has taken us 4 years to get this project back on track.  Since we took over as the lead agency from Pierce County we have completed the Valentine Intersection, are doing the preload as we speak for the 167 to Thornton Ave section and will tonight expand that to just short of the UP railroad tracks.  And we have done this not for the estimated 17 million when we pulled back, but closer to the neighborhood of $9 million.  We also fought to get Pierce County to put Stewart Road back on their 6 year transportation.  We did that over the objections of Pierce County Staff by demonstrating competence and determination to and with the County Council. We cannot afford to cannot afford to back off the pressure now.

We have many other road projects scheduled and paid for this spring that are important to our citizens. Among these are sidewalks and road repair to Milwaukee, an overlay of Butte and repairs to Frontage.  Do not allow the synergy we have built to fade away.

We also have made great progress in preparedness.  In spite of what was said over this past weekend on a negative website, we have a good plan that is due for updates this January. You have already adopted the Hazard Mitigation Plan by resolution last spring but due to be added is the Volunteer and Volunteer Management Plan, Evacuation Plan as well as a general review of the plan to keep it current.  We also need to keep up training of staff and citizens as well as test our readiness by exercises.  Make sure we do not lose focus on building capacity in our city as well as meeting the requirements of the EMPG grant we fought so hard to win.  It may only be a total of $48,000 over the past 4 years, but we do not want to not only lose this grant but possibly need to pay back portions because we do not follow through.

Finally we do not want to lose the great spirit of volunteerism we have built in this community.  But that spirit requires you to be involved as well.  Attendance at Community events, visible support of volunteer’s efforts and most of all empowering these citizens to do the job rather than micro managing their work.  They need to know that you care and value their efforts.

A Great Story to share at Christmas

A friend of mine shared this great story with me today. Please share this with others. Especially at Christmas we need to remember all of those who are over seas or heading there that do not get to share this holiday season with their loved ones.


The Airplane Flight

John Hollingsworth placed his carry-on luggage in the overhead compartment then sat down in his seat. He knew it was going to be a long flight and was glad he brought along a book to read between his planned naps. Just prior to take off a group of young soldiers walked down the aisle and sat in the seats surrounding him. John leaned over and asked a young man across the aisle 'Where are you guys headed?'. 'Petawawa. We'll be there a few weeks for training, then we ship off to Afghanistan after the first of the year.

About an hour into the flight, a flight attendant came on the PA and announced that snack lunches were available for five dollars for anyone who wished to purchase one. Since the flight would be several hours John decided to purchase one just to help pass the time. As he leaned forward to retrieve his wallet from his back pocket he heard one of the young soldiers in front of him ask his buddy Are you going to get a snack lunch? Naw, $5 is a lot of money just for snacks, Ill wait till we get to the base tonight to eat. Yeah, thats what I think said his friend.

John stood up and walked towards the rear of the plane. When he got to the galley he handed one of the flight attendants a fifty dollar bill and said 'Please give all ten soldiers on board a snack lunch. ' She grabbed his arm, squeezed it tight and said thanks my son was in the Army, he served in Iraq.

John returned to his seat and began to read his book. Soon the flight attendant with ten snack lunches in her arms began handing out the snack lunches to all the soldiers on board. Rather than return to the galley she headed up the aisle. Several minutes later the same flight attendant walked up to John, leaned forwarded and whispered quietly in his ear, 'Which would you prefer - beef or chicken?' What? Beef or Chicken? Chicken I guess he replied, as he wondered why the heck she wanted to know. A few minutes later she returned with a dinner plate from first class. This is for you Courtesy of the Captain.

After his meal, John walked to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man seated near the galley stopped him and said I heard what you told the attendant and with your permission Id like to chip in and he handed John a twenty dollar bill.

Not long after John returned to his seat, the Captain walked down the aisle. When he arrived at Johns row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, I wanted to shake your hand Mr. Hollingsworth. Quickly John unfastened his seatbelt, stood up and shook the Captain's hand. With a booming voice the Captain said I was once a military pilot and when I was young, lonely and broke someone bought me a lunch when I was traveling home for Christmas. It was an act of kindness Ive never forgotten", then the Captain placed a folded twenty dollar bill in Johns shirt pocket and said "put this toward my share. As the Captain walked away John was embarrassed as the passengers nearby erupted into a loud applause.

An hour or so later, just to stretch his legs, John walked toward the front of the plane. A man seated near the magazine rack reached out to shake Johns hand. When he finished shaking Johns hand a twenty dollar bill was neatly folded and left in Johns palm.

When the plane finally touched down several hours later, John began to gather his belongings and head for the door. Waiting just outside the planes door was an elderly lady obviously well off, and when John stepped through the door she put something in his shirt pocket, then turned and walked away; she never said a word. When John looked in his pocket there was crisp Fifty dollar bill.

As he entered the terminal area, John saw all the young soldiers gathering over in one corner of the terminal for their trip to their new base. John walked over, handed one of them the $110 and said It might take you guys some time to reach base tonight and you might get hungry - Merry Christmas.

Every day, people like John, and his fellow travelers, help keep the holidays bright. Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

As my two terms as Mayor of the great City of Pacificcome to an end, I wanted to take this time to review what we have accomplished as a community and the condition I have left this city in.  When I walked into this office in 2004 this city was a much different place to live.  Although our budgets then and now were within a few percentage points (both around $3.1 Million General Fund) our city was racked with debt and our sense of community was weak and in need of work.  Many of our employees had worked without a contract for over 18 months and our city faced many challenges that even after spending two years on the City Council, I had not fully understood. But as a community we faced and overcame these challenges.  Because of this our community is much safer, is fiscally stable and accountable to our citizens.

One of the first things I did was to assess how we went about doing our business as a community and found better ways of accomplishing some of the same task.  I combined the Community Development and Public Works under the same department head saving our city $70,000 per year. I also combined Youth and Senior services under the Community Service Department and brought back a well qualified manager who had left under the previous administration. As we understood the grant funding that had funded these programs was drying up we set about establishing a plan that both of these programs still operate under today.  Community Services needed to be more than just a lunch program for seniors and open gym after school for our youth. We created structured programs in both areas and documented units of service in each program to measure its value.  This documentation allowed us to pursue other grants and funding to support more programs for our citizens. We also created a Non Profit side of the community services that worked in partnership with the city, providing a unique combination of abilities.  By creation of a 501-C-3 we expanded our ability to pursue certain funding as well as provided for more flexibility to provide services to the citizens.  In 2008 it was commented at a King County Council meeting that the Pacific Algona Community Services program got “More Bang for the Buck” than any similar program in the county. Although the original non-profit broke away and formed their own program in Algona, we still provide more services for less cost than any other program we are aware of.  Since that division in 2009, our city now partners with Pacific Partnerships and has continued to provide services to not only Pacific residents, but many from Algona, Auburn and unincorporated King County.  We have almost doubled units of service and as participants in these programs have commented created a warm and safe environment for senior citizens and youth.

Pacific Partnership, mentioned above, is another big change.  A philosophy I have long believed is that government typically looked at community backwards.  Government would look at a community only as a glass half empty, seeing need for its citizens and then creating programs to hopefully fill that need.  Instead if you look at community as a glass half full, help facilitate and develop the resources you have in that community that glass can fill itself.  This was the idea behind Pacific Partnerships.  I will be honest; this great organization has exceeded what I originally envisioned.  I honestly believe that one of the reasons it works so well is that government does not interfere with its operations.  Government needs to partner with community to meet needs that might be critical but not a specific role of government.  Starting as an Ad Hoc committee of the Mayor’s office, Pacific Partnerships is now its own 501-C-3 non profit and fills that gap that government is not as adept in providing services.  It also strengthens our sense of community by empowering citizens to really make a difference.  I am proud of getting this group started but have to give all of the credit for what they accomplish to this fantastic organization.

When I took office we had a few projects that were started by the previous administration but needed to be completed. The Fountain and Pergola in front of City Hall is one of these projects. When King County and Metro wanted to build a new pump station for the sewer system, Pacific convinced them it made more sense to spend the 1% for the arts requirement on the fountain than artwork for a sewage lift station.  I give credit to the staff and members of the Pacific Parks Board at that time. It is their hard work that moved this project forward.  I also wish to point out that much of the city’s match for this project was provided by volunteers.

Another project that was started but we were in jeopardy of losing was improvements at Pacific City Park.  We had a grant to build the cabana, improve accessibility (bike and walking paths) and build the basketball court.  Because of inaction the funding for this project was close to being pulled.  As Mayor Elect, I met with Executive Ron Sims in December 2003 and was able to gain an extension and we got this project done in 2004.

The final big project started under the previous mayor was the Safeway mitigation for building the new distribution center in Auburn.  As they would be impacting our roads, it was important they help pay for improvements.  Although Safeway had agreed to pay some of the mitigation, the city lacked the ability to pay for the rest.  We also had many areas that were near or past the failure point because they had not been built to standards required to handle freight traffic. Working with John Walsh, the Public Works / Community Development director we were able to secure most of the funding to not only repair, but to entirely rebuild sections of Ellingson.  This funding from the Transportation Improvement Board also provided for sidewalks and traffic light improvements (Pacific Ave and Frontage Roads). As a result of our work, and a personal visit and plea to the TIB meeting in Bellingham this project was funded with minimal cost to our local taxpayers.

These were not the only projects we have been successful in securing funding for over these past eight years.  In 2007 we were awarded $4.96 Million for Valentine Road (due for construction next year).  In 2008 we secured $1Million for sidewalks and bike lanes on 3^rd Ave and $505,000 to make improvements to the Gym and Community Center.  In 2009 we secured $1.1 million for traffic signal improvements, purchase of the Morgan Property and additional sidewalk projects.  Combined with funding we received in 2010 and 2011 improvements are now funded to build or replace sidewalks on Milwaukee Blvd. from 5^th Ave SE to 3^rd Ave and repair sidewalks from 3^rd SE to Ellingson.  Also in 2010 and 2011 we received more than $6.5 Million in grants and over $2.2 Million in low interest loans for Storm Water Improvements as well as 90% of the funding now to widen Stewart Road from SR 167 to the UP railroad tracks.  This project is scheduled for completion next year. Using low interest loans from the State Revolving Trust Fund, we built a new water tower as well as a regional retention pond.  Even as I leave office the impacts of my administration’s efforts will benefit this city in getting these projects completed.

What I am sure I will be remembered for the most is what we have done in emergency management. Everyone remembers our response in the floods of 2009 and the work we have done since to prevent that from happening again.  Although I am still a strong proponent of long term mitigation that includes removal of debris in the river, in the short term we must work with our partners to protect our citizens now. If the incoming administration follows the planning in place we should be in good shape now even if we get the heavy flood threats this January and February as expected.  In spite of the attempts to minimize and discredit my efforts to prepare this city, I stand behind everything we have done and I am proud of our accomplishments.  What we accomplished for literally pennies on the dollar is an amazing story in itself.

Changes in Federal Laws as a result of the September 11^th attacks and Hurricane Katrina required our city to seriously look at our emergency management capabilities.  When it was discovered that Pacific’s Emergency Management planning was a ¼ page of boilerplate language in our Pacific Municipal Code, I made a commitment that our city would take appropriate steps to create and implement an appropriate Emergency Management program.

I sat down with the Chief and Captains of Pacific Fire Department (now part of the VRFA) to discuss what we needed to do to protect the interest of our citizens and businesses.  Contrary to the perception that many people still have, the responsibility to prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster belongs to the local level of government, not FEMA or the Federal Government. They will assist, but the work still needs to be done at the local level.  I met with a number of other government leaders, King and Pierce County Emergency Management to look at options and plan a strategy to meet our needs.  Our options at that time were to hire a consultant or a full time emergency manager, partner with King or Pierce County or the City of Auburn (who had just hired an emergency manager) or do the work ourselves.  As we did not have funding to cover the cost of the first two options, we set about looking at what we needed to do to create our own program.

I had already been exposed to some of the FEMA provided training programs such as Incident Command (ICS) and Continuity of Operations (COOP).  From working with some of our regional partners and on online courses I had a concept of what was needed. Thanks in part to a donation by a local businessman I attended an ICMA conference on disasters, Restoration 2006 in New Orleans.  As part of this conference I went through a two day workshop on writing COOP plans put on by the University of Maryland. This is where our original plan was developed from.  Three days after that plan was presented to the City Council for adoption, that plan was tested by the first of 2 floods our city faced under my administration.  Although the November 2006 floods did not cause damage to any homes, we still gained national attention because of how we responded. For the first time in its history, Pacific participated in the disaster declaration process and received disaster recovery money to cover cost and damage.  Because of the success of our response, I was asked to participate and speak at Restoration 2007, hoping to inspire other small communities to take this process seriously.  We were also featured in the University of Maryland’s Alumni Magazine for how we had adapted information gained from this program they were providing.

Being a part of and speaking at Restoration 2007 was an interesting experience. The ICMA is the organization founded and made up of City Managers (CEO’s of a Council / Manager for of government).  Here I was a Chief Elected Official from a “Strong Mayor” form of government speaking and helping organize this conference.  As an organizer and speaker my conference cost were picked up by ICMA.  Other costs were again offset by donations from local business, Happy with what we accomplished and proud to see our community receive this honor.  This is where the whole controversy used during the campaign over the purchase of my wife’s airfare came from.  To get the best deal on Orbitz, we had to purchase both tickets together.  I paid $300 cash for the cost of my wife’s ticket to the city and it was then purchased by the City. Although we found out after the fact it was not a good practice, this was how the then finance director had used for the previous 2 years with other staff members on travel cost.  In August of 2007 after talking to the State Auditor’s office we changed the policy. That is why the controversy over this was so ridiculous.

While speaking at Restoration 2007, I met staff members from the Emergency Management Institute (EMI).  This facility, operating out of the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg Maryland, is one of a group of training programs operated by FEMA/DHS.  It was recommended that I attend what was known as the Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC) where I could not only build upon my knowledge about emergency management but also gain experience in a very realistic disaster exercise. At EMI, the cost of the program and housing is paid for by FEMA.  Approximatly six weeks later participants are reimbursed for the cost of transportation. This is where the original cost of the travel was paid for out of the Mayor’s travel fund and reimbursed by me after FEMA made the reimbursement by direct deposit. FEMA’s rules would not allow those reimbursements to be made directly to the city.  At EMI is where we found the potential problems with our plan and what we needed to do to fix them.

A strong point about the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the standardization it promotes across all disciplines and regions.  Responders from anywhere in the country could assist in disaster operations anywhere in our nation and operate under a standardized system. Although our emergency management plan had adopted NIMS and ICS, the layout of the plan was not in a preferred outline. Following best practices used around the country, I rewrote our Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) into the form it is in today.  Sitting down with staff we looked at our options of implementing this CEMP and what was going to be needed for the long term preparedness of our city.  The first step to implement this plan we needed to create and participate in a training and exercise plan. This plan required the city to develop strategies to train staff and potential responders in ICS and to test the emergency plan with a regular program of exercises. From our participation in “Sound shake 08”, a statewide disaster exercise, we knew that the answer was by using a combination of resources in which to accomplish these tasks. As at that time I was the only person in the city to have passed ICS 300 and 400, I arranged to travel back to EMI to take the ICS Train the Trainer program.  EMI also had what was known as the Master Exercise Practioner program which was a series of online and resident classes to teach and credential participants to write, conduct and evaluate disaster exercises.  I was the first elected official to graduate from this program.  Two of my classmates now hold elected office in their jurisdictions.  We all share the belief that it is critical that elected officials understand and participate in the training and exercise process.  Psychologists who study performance under pressure are aware of the phenomenon called "brain freeze," the inability of the human mind to engage in complex reasoning in the grip of intense fear. It appears that arousal of the amygdala causes a partial shutdown of the frontal cortex, so that it becomes possible to engage only in instinctive or well-learned behavior.  This is why policy leaders who might be called upon to make critical decisions during times of disaster take the time to learn and practice this type of thinking and these type of decisions.  To make a long story short this is why I have dedicated so much of my time into taking this type of training.  It is something I found a new passion about and plan on staying involved in, but the original and still primary motivation was to bring back this type of training to our community.
Part of emergency planning is looking at the various types of incidents that could occur in a jurisdiction. At EMI I had gained a good background in dealing with most natural disasters.  But EMI was only one program offered by FEMA/DHS.  Located at the former Fort McClellan in Aniston Alabama is the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP).  They offer a number of classes (see links below) that offered me an ability to expand my understanding and perceptions.  Another difference with the CDP is that they are funded directly under DHS and covered most cost up front.  This is why my travel to classes at the CDP included only baggage fees and a couple meals.
At the CDP, the Department of Homeland Security operates the COBRA training facility.  This is the only facility in the nation where civilians can learn firsthand what it is like to operate in an environment exposed to chemical or biological agents.  As part of different classes, I have entered the COBRA facility now 4 times, the most of any elected official in our nation. Although it might not seem like this training would be of any use to our community, much of what I have learned can be translated into other risk our community faces.  We can never forget that Boeing operates chemical treatment facilities on our borders and that we have over 5000 box cars of hazardous materials go through our city by train every year.  This does not include the thousands of trucks traveling down SR167.  It can also be translated into response to some meth labs.  I now have a realistic perception of what it would take if God forbid we were to have a serious Hazardous Material accident in our city.
When our city was flooded in January 2009 the city had a good idea of what we needed to do in response and as we transitioned into recovery.  But we did have areas we realized we needed to work on.  One of those areas was the management of volunteers.  Because of the work we had already accomplished the City of Pacific qualified for what are known as EMPG or Emergency Preparedness Performance Grants.  Using some of the EMPG funds we hired a consultant to help us develop a volunteer management plan.  Our EVS (Emergency Volunteer Services) plan that was developed is what we have been working on for the past two years. We know that during times of disaster that we will be flooded with citizens wanting to help.  We also know that in a catastrophic event such as a large earthquake we will not have the ability to draw resources from our neighbors, they will be busy themselves and we will be on our own.
The Pacific EVS Plan creates a three tier system of volunteers and establishes a process for our community to train and credential some of these volunteers in advance.  Some of this training can be provided by use of online and other existing programs.  Some of this training would require us to develop new programs specific to our needs and resources. A program at EMI, the Master Trainer Program, established the ability for us to custom design training programs for our needs.  Similar to a Thesis in a Masters program, as part of this program I am currently finishing up my Practicum where I am writing a complete training program including all materials, student and instructor guides.
The final thing I will discuss about our emergency management is to point out what we have accomplished and what cost to our local taxpayers.  As was discussed earlier, we did not have any choice to write our emergency plan and to work towards closing gaps in our community preparedness.  Both State law (WAC 118-30-040 and 060, RCW 38.52.070) as well as Federal requirements (HSPD-5 and 8, SARA and others) provide the requirements for local government. What is different is the way we met those goals and the cost.  I personally believe that we could use a full time Emergency Management Professional to refine our plan and organize training for our community.  In the tight budgets we have had, paying off old debt and now recovering from the bad economy, we have not had the ability to do so.  Diverting current staff to take the training and spend the time needed was not an option either as they have their regular duties to accomplish as well.  In addition to any cost of travel and training we would also have to pay regular wages as well as cost to replace them while they are away.  For many of these classes I took time off from my job as a Union Electrician in order to attend training. I have never complained about or regretted the thousands of dollars in lost wages I have personally lost.  As it is, for a cost of less than what we now qualify for in EMPG funds, we now meet Federal and State requirements. For what could have cost over $100,000 using consultants we accomplished for pennies on the dollar. And they were not even local taxpayer pennies. Thanks to donations by local businesses and reimbursements made, costs were not paid out of local tax dollars. These businesses realized how critical this work is to our community they choose to do business in.  I have also volunteered my time with a few of these donors with creating their own emergency management plans.  There has never been any corruption as my political opponents claimed.  No special favors were ever granted any business for a donation, nor were they treated any differently than anyone else. A community that can respond to and quickly recover from disaster is in their best interest as well as our community’s.
As I transition out of this office, I am exploring options of how to continue my commitment to our community.  My job as Mayor was the tool I used to serve our citizens. I have no intention of abandoning my commitment to this community or to emergency management. One way or another I will continue to develop and present training to our citizens.  Officially or Unofficially I will continue to refine emergency management plans for our city and develop a volunteer organization capable of assisting our community in times of disaster.  I have a lot of love for this community and do not want to see anything happen to it.  As I step aside as Mayor, I will remain committed to doing what is in the best interest of our community.



Information on EMI - http://training.fema.gov/EMI/
Information on the Center for Domestic Preparedness - http://cdp.dhs.gov/
(note: If you look at the Why Train at the CDP link on the homepage and scroll down you will find a story on me attending training in the COBRA facility)

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.

The Mayor's Office, the Budget Process and the Attitude of Fiscal Accountability.

 

Every year the Mayor is required to prepare and to present to Council a balanced budget for the following year based on his or her priorities.  Council then takes this budget, has the opportunity to match it with their priorities and adjust it as they see fit.  typically what is passed is a blended model where no one gets everything they want, but is representative of the core values of each member.  Since taking office in 2004, this process has fallen to me to begin.

 

The Budget process is not as simple as looking at how much you expect to bring in, and adjusting spending accordingly.  There is never enough money coming in to cover all cost and there is fiscal requirements that place additional limits on what some monies are spent on.  For a city, this process is spread over a couple of months and includes the input of citizens, business, department heads and the state itself.  Unlike the federal government we are not allowed to run a deficit, with the exception of loans, our spending is limited to the revenues we take in, carry over and reserves.

 

When I took office in 2004 our city was in trouble.  An outside audit performed in 2002/03 showed that in prior years mistakes had been made on budgets that were presented to council.  Although it was more bookkeeping errors than anything else, the city had to commit to use of Interfund loans to re-balance previous budgets and we entered the 2004 budget year in debt.  We have now paid off all of those Interfund loans and had in fact built almost a $1 million dollar reserve before the downturn in the economy.  We did this by looking closely at what our priorities were, combining some positions, and an attitude of fiscal conservatism since I took office.   

 

Changes in State Law also created challenges.  Prior to the Washington State Legislature's passage of the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) sales tax generated from our businesses here in Pacific paid that sales tax to us.  Following SST that sales tax was destination based and was paid out to the home city of the purchaser, if that city could be determined.  Since much of our sales tax was construction related (sales of heavy equipment etc.) we took a dramatic hit.  Combined with the model B&O ordinance, reductions in grants and other funding and the overall economic downturn, the world we budget in today is much different than it was under past administrations.

 

With the State of Washington looking at additional cuts across the board there are a number of funds that I will not take into consideration when I create the budget proposal over this next two weeks.  A division of liquor sales was earmarked for cuts in the governors budget and might also be amended by initiative on November 8th.  For Pacific it is approximately $26,000 that I will set aside and not count on for revenue. I am currently going over the Governor's recommendations to the Special Session to find additional funds I need to do the same thing with.

 

As for Property, Sales and B&O Taxes, my recommendation will basically be flat.  Although I may propose the 1% increase allowed by law, this amount is miniscule and is more than offset by the loss of the homes taken out by King County for their flood protection plans.  With the economy still on shaky ground it would be irresponsible to count on any appreciable increase in business related revenues such as B&O and sales tax.  In the 2011 revenue projections we made conservative predictions that proved to be lower than our actual figures.  Because of this, instead of drawing down our reserves as we did last year and provided a cushion with this year, we will be able to start building them back up.  but our priorities need to be building those reserve funds back to what is prudent and required for fiscal management.

 

When I propose the 2012 budget in November it will be based on the following realities.

1)     We can not count on certain revenues we have seen in the past including many of those that fund community service programs. As I have always been very protective of and believe in the value of our Senior and Youth programs we will need to be creative to make sure these programs can continue.  These are an investment in our community and must be continued.

2)    We cannot count on a measured recovery of our economy in the next 12 months.  Although I do expect to see steady progress in the pattern we see now, I will not count it now, before we have those revenues in hand.

3)    Although the Washington State Legislature will attempt to find ways to help local governments survive, I am not going to hold my breath.  If I am wrong, at least it will be more money coming in and not less.

4)    The outside pressures placed on our community by outside forces will continue.  We need to work as a regional partner in gang prevention, environmental issues, transportation and many more topics.

 

I would love to be able to present a budget that included appropriate increases for some of our overworked employees.  We currently have lower wages on average than most other cities our size.  I would love to fully fund programs, fix our streets and solve all of our community problems.  But that is not going to be a fiscal reality.  As we bring new businesses in (and we have many new companies who will come on line this year) and our current businesses do better, we will see increases in our revenue capacity.  My job now is to balance what we see coming in our future with our needs and provide the council with a proposal that represents the best interest of our community as a whole.  Along with everyone else, I would want more but we must maintain accountability to our future.  

My opposition to King County's Flood Protection Plan.

 

Since the flood of January 2009, the discussion of how we prevent flooding of residential areas has been a constant discussion.  With additional requirements of the Endangered Species Act it is no longer as simple as dredging the river. However that does not mean debris removal should not be part of the equation.

 

First it should be pointed out that much of the property adjacent to the White River (including the park) is owned by King County, they are the lead agency in any mitigation.  King County has long planned a levy setback on the east side of the river and the removal of armoring along the east bank to reintroduce a former oxbow back into the river.  The City of Pacific has always supported this project and believe it is a part of the long term mitigation strategies.  Since the flood of 2009 King County has expanded that idea to include a levy setback on the West side of the river as well.  for the purpose of protection of our citizens, we support this project as well.  It is how this project is aligned that we differ.

 

The West bank setback levy will run from the north side of Pacific Park (again, this is owned by King County) along 3rd Ave SE, this setback turns south along the west side of Pacific Park to the King/Pierce County Line.  Where Pacific has long believed that it was possible to run this levy behind 11 homes on White River Drive, King County bought these homes, moved or destroyed them and plans on running the levy across the middle of those properties.  This has disrupted the neighborhood feel of this area and has impacted the lives of not only those people who were forced to move, but the lives of everyone who live in the area.  It is my contention that if they had run along the back side of this property, millions of dollars could have been spent on other facets of the project far more effectively.

 

In addition, without long term maintenance of the river, both of the levy setbacks will be obsolete in just a few years.  The USGS recently completed a study that showed more than 750,000 tons of gravel, silt and other debris is moved down the White river each year.  Much of that settles in the less steep areas from Game Farm Park to Sumner.  That is why we see massive build ups in our city.  With this much debris building up each year, how long would it take to over run all mitigation projects currently underway?

 

A USGS study completed in November of 2008 showed that at the A street bridge the base of the river had risen almost 6' in the previous 20 years.  This build up raises the river level at all stages and reduces the capacity before you reach flood stage. At that same time the capacity of the White River was approximately 10,000 Cubic Feet per Second before water would over top any of the river banks in Pacific.  In January 2009, so much debris flowed down the river that the capacity of the river was reduced to under 5000 CFS in spots.

Currently we will see water flowing over the wetlands area south and east of White River Estates anywhere from 4500 CFS to 6000 CFS dependent on how much the soil is saturated and a few other factors.  In other words we no longer have the capacity needed for the Army Corps Engineers needs to safely operate the Mud Mountain Dam.

 

Now we do not need to do wholesale dredging.  I believe we can remove debris safely without destroying fish habitat or the turbidity of the river. By scalping the top off of exposed gravel bars we can increase the capacity and maintain a safe river system.

 

As Mayor I will continue to fight to create  safe, sustainable and affordable mitigation for our citizens.  I do not feel this needs to be an either or situation and will not allow our city to be run over by King County or anyone else.  I will make sure out interest are listened to.  In the interim, I will work with all Stakeholders to make sure that we do not see a repeat of flooding this year by supporting the temporary measures and careful monitoring of the river throughout the river.

Why I am proud to be your Mayor

I was discussing some of the reasons why it is important that I am reelected in November.  Yes, continued progress in preparing our citizens and city for disasters is part of it, but there are so many more reasons.

When I first took office in 2004 our city was millions of dollars in debt.  My first challenge as Mayor was to look at how we did things as a Government, prioritize services and look at what could be accomplished better by other means. As a result of changes made, we paid off that debt, built up a reserve of almost $1,000,000 and did so without big tax increases by the city.  We did so by increasing efficiencies, bringing in new businesses and helping our current businesses do better.  Due to these changes and my belief in fiscal discipline, when the economic downturn hit is 2008 our city was in a much better position than many to survive.  We did make cuts, but we did not need to slash programs and lay off employees because we were already operating lean.  Although our reserves have shrunk over this past few years, they did what they were supposed to do, provide for services during Pacific’s rainy days.

There are many other accomplishments we can be proud of.  Under my administration we have aggressively pursued grants and funding to improve our infrastructure.  We completely rebuilt Ellingson, added sidewalks and bike lanes on 3^rd Ave, built a new water tower and regional stormwater facility.  We are working regionally with Sumner to our south creating a new Manufacturing Industrial Center to create new jobs and moving forward to rebuild Valentine Road, Milwaukee and Butte early next year.  We are moving into our second phase of widening Stewart Road and preloading of the shoulders from SR 167 to Thornton should begin soon.  Much of this is funded by your tax dollars that are paid to State and Federal Government; we are just bringing those dollars home to benefit you.

What I am most proud of is what we have accomplished as a community.  In 2004 I asked a group of citizens to step forward and volunteer their time on civic functions in our community.  Out of this initial group, Pacific Partnerships was born.  By encouraging and empowering citizens to take active control of their lives, Pacific Partnerships now provides for much of our civic infrastructure; Pacific Days, The Giving Tree, our Tree lighting at City Hall, many of the activities that draw us together as a community.  We also have the White River Valley Lions Club of which I was the first of the founding members.  Both of these great organizations are not brought up to take credit for them or what they do, but to point out that I value the power and abilities that our citizens have and believe it is important for us as a community to always promote those values.

Yes, I am proud of what we have accomplished in preparedness.  We are on the cutting edge in many ways and have found creative ways to provide many of the same resources that communities four times our size struggle with.  We are teaching citizens not just how to prepare and save themselves, but to effectively work together in times of disaster.  I am proud to have been recognized as a Risk Innovator by Risk and Insurance Magazine and proud of the national recognition garnered as a result of our attitude, training and preparedness. 

There are many reasons I deserve to be reelected as your Mayor for another four years.  I am dedicated to this community and will always work to empower our community to be better than we are.  Some have complained that I am using my position as a stepping stone to a new career.  I have turned down job opportunities that would take me away from my ability to serve as your Mayor because I still had work to do here.  When I retire, I most likely will pursue a new career in emergency management because I have developed a passion for it.  I believe that it is important for everyone to look at how they can best serve others, and if my experience can help our nation become better prepared then yes, I will pursue that as a new career. But it is because of the passion I have for the subject and my desire to always serve in the best interest of our citizens that is the reason.  That is always something to be proud of.

The Values behind Service.

As I predicted back in January, this has turned into a nasty race for reelection.  But a conversation I had over this past weekend sums it up perfectly.  When an opponent is trying to unseat you they try to attack and discredit what your strong points are.  So in a way, my opposition has been saying my strong points are my integrity and my willingness to take on the added duties of emergency management.

Many people have asked why I even put up with the attacks I have. Why have I persevered when most people would have just thrown their hands up and walked away?   I have stayed because I believe in what I am doing and because I believe in fulfilling promises I made to the citizens of this city. Although we have accomplished a lot over this past 7 ½ years, we still have a ways to go.  Another reason why I would not just walk away is because of the values I was raised by.

My father was a retired US Air Force Captain.  He served as a Pilot (Commander of the Stewart Group) and later in the Office of Special Investigations for 16 ½ years before retiring on a medical discharge.  He then taught at Wilson High School in Tacoma for 20 years.  I was raised on the values of hard work, dedication to what I believe in and not giving up until you reach your goals.  My father taught me to be generous with community, to give back and to always honor our Servicemen and Veterans. I was proud to be a part of building the Veteran’s memorial in Puyallup (I donated all of the electrical work).  In the winter of 2006 when VFW Post 11401 was getting ready to build a veteran’s memorial in Milton I was proud to again donate my services as an electrician getting more than $4000 in material donated as well as providing all of the labor.  This was my way of remembering my father and honoring his service.

Those values of hard work go farther than just building veteran’s memorials.  From building sandbag walls (like we are doing this next Saturday (October 15^th) to the citywide clean up to an upcoming project of rebuilding a porch for one of our local seniors. I enjoy serving the community of Pacific and volunteer because of how good it makes me feel to give back.  This is also one of the reasons I ran for office in the first place.

My opponents have attacked me on taking the time to attend emergency management training.  One has even stated that he does not see why a Mayor needs to understand emergencies. First, if the Chief Elected Official or any elected official for that matter, does not understand what is needed, how are they supposed to know what needs to be done?  Do I know more than the average Mayor?  Yes, but that is something our city should be proud of. Over this past four years I have taken over 20 weeks off of my regular work as a Union Electrician learning aspects of Emergency Management I have brought back to our city.  Over this past two years I have spent countless hours working with staff, teaching classes for our citizens and continuing the refinement of our planning.  Other cities have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars just trying to get to the point we have for less than a thousand (after all donations, grants and reimbursements from FEMA we have less than $1000 invested).  As I stated in a different posting, maybe the problem is not I have had too much training; maybe the issue is my opponents have not had enough.

No matter what happens this fall I know I can hold my head high for what I have accomplished and how I have conducted myself.  As has been proven now by two outside investigations, my use of the credit card was not illegal, I have always maintained accountability and I have always been open and honest with the citizens. In the end, the only thing I was guilty of was listening to bad advice of our Finance Director at the time in how we purchased my wife’s airfare to a conference I was speaking at.  Even then it was funds donated by local business that was spent, not tax dollars. These businesses, General Equipment, Trimark Corp., Commercial Metals, Valley Freightliner, Valley Truck and Equipment, etc understood the value of the training I was taking, the importance of not just emergency management but the reputation our city was getting nationally as a leader.  The only thing these businesses asked for in return is that the knowledge gained be shared with the community to make everyone safer.

As this election draws near I am confident the citizens see through all of the political smoke.  I believe in this city and I know that many citizens believe in me.  In the interim I will continue to work hard (again a reminder about the sandbagging party this Saturday), serve our community and help keep Pacific a great place to live and do business.

Rememberance Day 2011

As everyone is aware, Sunday is the 10 year anniversary of the most horrific terrorist attacks in history on American soil. It is the 10 year anniversary of our world changing forever.  Prior to those planes being hijacked, terrorism was something that happened overseas, it did not happen in America.  September 11th was a day we lost our innocence. It was also a day that our nation united in mourning and resolve.
September 11th is now known as a day of remembrance. 

Remembrance Day is when we honor all of those who lost their lives that day including the 343 FDNY Firefighters, 23 NYPD Police Officers and 37 Port Authority Police who perished in the World Trade Center. It is when we remember those on the 4 planes who lost their lives as innocent hostages in this insidious act of terror. It is when we remember the lives 125 lost when a Boeing 767 flew broadside into the Pentagon.
Osama bin Laden's intent was to bring our nation to its knees. Instead we saw heroes emerge and a nation resolved to defeat those who did this. As Admiral Yamamoto proclaimed following Pearl Harbor "I fear we have awoken a sleeping giant".  The Spirit that was awoken that day still lives in many parts of our Nation today.

Later this month a group of Fire Fighters from Valley Regional Fire Authority will be traveling back to New York City to participate in the “Steven Siller – Follow the Footsteps” or “Tunnel to Towers run”.  I was proud to travel with them a few years back and this year Mayor Dave Hill from Algona and City Council Member John Partridge of Auburn will go back.  Steven Siller was a FDNY Firefighter who was off shift and driving through Brooklyn to go golfing with his brother Frank. When the planes hit, he turned around and was able to get as close as the Battery Tunnel in Brooklyn before traffic and roadblocks prohibited him from going further.  He parked his car on the side of his road, grabbed his gear from the truck of his car and ran from Brooklyn to the WTC site.  He was one of the 343 FDNY members who perished that day.  The Tunnel to Towers run honors his memory as well as all those who lost their lives by raising funds for charity.

Every year on the Anniversary of these attacks a group of responders from New York have traveled to other parts of the country devastated by a disaster and have donated their services to help others rebuild their lives.  They do this out of thank you for all of the volunteers who went to New York to assist and all of those who helped in so many other ways.  Since 2002 many others have joined them each year including many who were victims of other disasters.

No matter how you wish to remember 9-11-01 or choose to honor those who lost their lives this Sunday please do this.  Remember how our Nation was changed that day and the selfless acts that occurred that day and since.  Remember all of those who serve now as Fire Fighters and Police Officers.  Remember all of those who serve us now in military service. Remember all of those who selflessly work to find how they can make a difference in the lives of others. This is the best way to honor those who lost their lives that day

PS - Anyone who wishes to join me our Nation's flag will be lowered at Precisely 5:45 AM Pacific Time in front of VRFA Station 38.  This is the time that American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

At 9:30 AM many of us will gather at the Auburn International Farmers Market for a ceremony that will culminate with a moment of silence and a ringing of the bell at 10:00.

Updated Mayor's Training - Cost Audit sheet

Emergency Management Training

Cost Audit

Note: For classes held at EMI, Participant pays airfare and Baggage Fees upfront and is reembursed by FEMA (about 6 weeks after class).  Remaining cost of Food ticket, Hotel cost (sometimes flight availablity required stay over prior or after for lower cost) is not reembursed by FEMA.

For classes at CDP and TEEX they pay airfare upfront.  Only cost is travel food and baggage fees

2007-

·         E-900     IEMC Recovery and Mitigation – EMI (August)

o   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IEMC/

§  Airfare  4/30/07                $444.59 (Orbitz)

§  Food Ticket 9/14/07        $94.50  (This class was in Aug, why did it take so long to post)

§  Reimbursement  11/27/07  ($444.59)

2008 -   

·         E-901     IEMC Planning and Response – EMI (February)

o   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IEMC/

§  Airfare covered by AA Frequent Flyer miles  $10 fee – 11/19/07

§  Food  (cannot find entry)   $97.50

·         Continuity of Operations Planning TTT –  Richland (April)

Similar to B/E/L 550: Continuity Planners Train-the-Trainer Workshop

o   http://www.fema.gov/about/org/ncp/coop/training.shtm

§  Hotel                                     $160.04  (Orbitz)

§  Gas (City Vehicle)            $51.62

§  Food                                      $49.24

§  Minor’s Hamburgers      $6.37

(Note: These cost are not reimbursed by FEMA)

·         E-920     IEMC/ Haz Mat – EMI (June)

o   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IEMC/

§  Airfare  4/21/08                $480.99 (Orbitz)

§  Hotel                                     $132.34 (Orbitz)

§  Food      7/14/08                $108.61 (Ticket + Per Diem)        

·         Discussion Based Exercises (MEP) –EMI (Oct) 

o   http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/emiopt.asp

§  Airfare  9/18/08                $470.99 (Orbitz)

§  Hotel                                     $107.89  (Orbitz)

§  Food      11/06/08              $136.21  (Ticket + Per Diem)

·         Exercise Program Management (MEP)- EMI  (Dec)  ***

o   http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/emiopt.asp

§  Airfare  9/18/08                $526.99 (Orbitz)

§  Hotel                                     $102.31 (Orbitz)

§  Food      12/31/08              $128.01 (Ticket + Per Diem)

§  Baggage Fee 12/31/08   $30.00

2009 –

·         Operational Based Exercises (MEP) – EMI (March)

o   http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/emiopt.asp

§  Airfare                                  $490.39  (Orbitz) Ledger shows $471.89 ?

§  Hotel was for National League of Cities Congressional Conference (Orbitz)

2010 –

·         ICS Train the Trainer – EMI (Jan)

o   (I could not get a clean URL as EMI is changing some courses)

§  Airfare  09/11/09              $506.40 (Orbitz)

§  Hotel     11/05/09              $85.17  (Orbitz)

§  Food      2/5/10                   $133.23

§  Baggage Fee  2/5/10       $40.00

·         Management and Supervision of Training (MTP 601) – EMI  (March)  ***

o   http://training.fema.gov/EMICourses/crsdetail.asp?cid=E601&ctype=R

§  Airfare  10/13/09              $483.40

§  Hotel                                     $66.14   (Orbitz)

§  Journal Entry 4/8/10      $217.92 Believed to be Hotel, Food and Baggage Fees)

               

·         Managing Civil Action Threat Incidents ( now called Field Force Command and Planning )– CDP  (March)

o   http://cdp.dhs.gov/schedules/program/k.html

§  Baggage (combined with IC Hot) 5/07/10              $75.00

§  Food (See Above)                                                           $39.12  

·         Incident Command for CBRNE Incidents / HOT  (2 classes)- CDP (April)

o   http://cdp.dhs.gov/schedules/program/c.html

o   http://cdp.dhs.gov/resident/hot.html

·         Performance and Needs Analysis  (MTP 602)- EMI  (June) ***

o   http://training.fema.gov/EMICourses/crsdetail.asp?cid=E602&ctype=R

§  Airfare  5/07/10                $492.83

§  Baggage 7/26/10 (2)        $48.00

§  Food Ticket 7/26/10        $97.73

§  Food  7/26/10                    $14.48

·         Technical Emergency Response for CBRNE events – CDP  (September)

o   http://cdp.dhs.gov/resident/tert.html

§  Baggage 10/6/10              $50.00

§  Food      10/6/10               $16.60

·         Instructor Training Credentialing – CDP (Dec)

o   http://cdp.dhs.gov/resident/itc.html

2011 –

·         Instructional Design (MTP 603) – EMI (Jan)  ***

o   http://training.fema.gov/emicourses/crsdetail.asp?cid=E603&ctype=R

§  Airfare  12/22/10             $195.80 (Combined with $200 AA Voucher)

§  Baggage 2/8/11                                $25.00

§  Baggage 3/8/11                                $25.00

§  Food  2/8/11                      $10.96

§  Food Ticket  2/8/10         $97.70

·         Hazard Assessment Response Management – CDP (Feb)

o   http://cdp.dhs.gov/resident/harm.html

§  Food     3/8/11                   $14.04

·         Enhanced All Haz IM /UC  - TEEX  (February)

o   http://www.teex.org/NERRTC/documents/E%20IMUC%20POI.pdf

§  Airline Rebook  3/8/11  $139.00

§  Food  (2)             3/8/11   $10.06

·         Course Development (MTP 604) – EMI  (March 21-25) ***

o   http://training.fema.gov/EMICourses/crsdetail.asp?cid=E604&ctype=R

§  Airfare 3/08/11                $242.80 (combined with $300 Delta Voucher)

§  Change Fee  4/05/11      $150.00  (class following week was canceled)

§  Hotel /Car 4/05/11          $101.97  (Rebook did not have flight on Fri – had to stay over)

§  Food Ticket  4/05/11      $97.70

§  Baggage (2)  4/05/11      $50.00

·         Instructional Delivery (MTP 605) – EMI (June 27-30)  ***

o   http://www.training.fema.gov/emicourses/crsdetail.asp?cid=E605&ctype=R

o   NOTE:  Cost Paid UP Front by Critical Times Consulting Pending Audit Completion

Total Airfare paid on city Credit Card                                                                                       $4465.68

Total Baggage Fees paid on card                                                                                                                $343.00

Total Reimbursable cost (by FEMA)                                                                                     <$4748.56>

Balance paid by FEMA/DHS reimbursements                                                                      -$60.12 

(more paid to city than cost from reimbursable travel cost)

Total Cost (Training Only) through 6/01/11                                                                          $7800.44

Donations (in Ledger – Training Only)   

                                11/27/07              E-900                     RGH       $444.59

                                5/08/08                                                FL            $200.00

                                8/11/08                                                JW          $100.00

12/31/08              MEP #1?              RGH       $470.00 (note: This was found in FEMA Account)

7/20/09                E-920                     RGH       $480.99 (note: This was found in FEMA Account)

                                3/02/09                MEP #2                 RGH       $526.99

                                4/29/09                MEP #3                 RGH       $505.39

                                5/20/09                                    Com. Metals  $500.00

                                6/01/09                                                RGH       $200.00

                                8/18/09                                    Com. Metals  $500.00

                                10/21/09                                 Apply a Line    $350.00

                                4/26/10                E-601                     RGH       $498.40

                                4/28/10                ICS –TTT               RGH       $506.40

                                8/23/10                E-602                     RGH       $515.80

                                8/27/10                                                RGH       $500.00

                                3/07/11                E-603 / TEEX       RGH       $500.00

                                8/05/11                604/605                RGH       $300.00

                                <$7098.56>

Note: There are at least 2 donations missing still at this time –a $700 cash donation from me made on or about 7/09 and a $500 cash donation from Commercial Metals around Sept/Oct 2009

               

2011 – Planned

o   Executive Leaders Program – CHDS  (April 11-15)  Postponed to July due to Congressional Budget Battle

o   IC/HOT Pilot – CDP  (June 20-25) I am canceling this Due to time limitations

o   Executive Leaders Program – CHDS  (July 25-29)

o   http://www.chds.us/?special/info&pgm=Exec

o   Executive Leaders Program – CHDS (Oct 17 -21)

2012 – Planned

o   Executive Leaders Program – CHDS (Feb 6 - 10)

o   Executive Leaders Program – CHDS (April?)

NOTE:  To eliminate any issues on this, I am suspending the Mayor’s Travel Account and all cost will be paid out of pocket.  What is appropriate to be covered by city will be submitted as a reimbursement.