>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Elected and appointed officials from Union and Wallowa counties showed up in La Grande in force Tuesday to register their concerns over ethics reporting requirements mandated by the Oregon Legislature.

During a sometimes-heated discussion of state-mandated requirements on public disclosure, at least three officials said they will quit rather than comply with the new requirements, which they see as too intrusive.

They included Dick Royes of Imbler, who said he believes many others will give up their positions rather than file.

“It’s going to reduce the pool of people willing to serve. I myself will resign,” said Royes.

Those who do quit will be taking their cue from the entire Elgin Planning Commission, which resigned in protest last Thursday.

The planning commission’s mass exit sparked local publicity. In response, the Oregon Ethics Commission sent trainer Tammy Hedrick to Union County Tuesday to try and explain the reasoning behind the statute and the commission’s role in enforcement.

Addressing about 30 elected and appointed public officials from throughout the county, Hedrick said people shouldn’t be too hasty in their decisions. She held out hope that state legislators will re-examine the issue in the next session.

“Statutes are living documents, and they can change if there’s enough input,” she said.

ORS 244.050, passed in 1974, requires elected officials, planners, administrators and managers, and some other positions to file a document called a Statement of Economic Interest.

Some 97 communities and six counties were exempt from the filing rule until last year, when the state Legislature amended the ORS.

The newly-affected local communities include Cove, Elgin, Enterprise, Imbler, Island City, Joseph, Lostine North Powder and Wallowa.

“The Legislature decided there should be more accountability,” said Hedrick. “They decided there should be more and more frequent reporting requirements.”

The reporting forms are public record, meaning they can be examined by anyone. Plans to post the information on the Internet by 2010 threaten privacy, many feel.

Though local officials say they understand a need for some level of disclosure, they see the reporting requirements as intrusive and asking too much of people who sit on small-town boards, commissions and councils, mostly as volunteers.

The Statement of Economic Interest asks for information on personal income, debt, business connections, business investments, possible conflicts of interest, gifts, office-related events and payments received for services including speeches and public appearances.

Officials are also required to give information about household members, and relatives not living in the house. During Tuesday’s meeting, that issue was the most discussed by far.

It was a major concern for Marc Stauffer, a member of the Enterprise Planning Commission and an outspoken critic of the new rules.

“I have siblings and parents who value their privacy,” Stauffer said. ‘They have said they don’t want me to list that information, so I have two choices: List them or step down.”

Susan Roberts, an Enterprise planning commissioner and a candidate this year for the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners, was yet another to object on those grounds.

“What’s to stop someone who wants to hammer on me from using that information to find my daughter and hammer on her instead?” Roberts said.

While the reports are public record, Hedrick said the ethics commission doesn’t get many requests from the general public to review them. She said the few inquiries that are made usually come from the media.

As for posting the records on the Internet, she said most of the information officials are asked to provide is already available from other sources, including property tax and Department of Motor Vehicle records and many sites on the Internet.

“If someone wants to find out about you, they’re going to,” she said.

Other people at the meeting said they worry over the fact that the amended bill provides for fines up to $5,000 for non-compliance. Hedrick said her agency doesn’t want to resort to fines.

“You don’t instantly get fined. You get a reminder, then 15 days to respond, then another reminder. It’s not instant,” Hedrick said.

Elgin City Administrator Joe Garlitz, also an outspoken opponent of the new requirements, told Hedrick the Elgin Planning Commission quit to make a statement.

He noted that the action drew headlines — and got the attention of the ethics commission.

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if it wasn’t for that,” he said.

Garlitz said the people who hold office in Northeast Oregon understand their ethical responsibilities and aren’t trying to duck out on them. But he added that he thinks the Elgin action will be misunderstood in Salem.

“We have no influence on the Legislature. We’ll just get branded as a bunch of renegades who have no interest in following the ethics laws, even if that’s not the way things actually are.

“We can either lay down and get run over, or stand up.”

Hedrick said the ethics commission oversees compliance with the statute, and can make no judgments about the fairness of the requirements.

She added, however, that the agency wants those concerned to submit feedback that can in turn be sent on to the Legislature.

She repeatedly said she hopes people will continue in their positions until the Legislature meets and revisits the statute.

“We don’t want you to stop volunteering. It’s disturbing that this reporting piece is raising that level of concern,” she said.

Anna Richter Taylor of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office said today Kulongoski is aware of the conflicts arising from the Legislature’s actions, and is looking at the situation.

“The governor feels citizens have a right to open government, and to know officials aren’t benefiting from their positions. But there is a line between public responsibility and private lives, and he is looking to see if the bill struck the right balance,” she said.

State Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, said Wednesday he is in favor of reporting requirements, but believes the Legislature shouldn’t have imposed the same requirements on small town, volunteer public servants as it does on others.

He said he thinks the Legislature needs to find a less intrusive solution for that variety of public servant.

“We have to find a balance. I think there should be a two-tiered system, and that’s what I’m working on (for the next session),” he said.

The deadline for filing the Statements of Economic Interest is April 15. While many public servants in the region are still considering their options, a few have made up their minds.

North Powder City Administrator Sue Harris said Tuesday she will resign because she has a possibly recurring conflict of interest. Her husband works for the engineering firm of Anderson-Perry and Associates. The company does frequent business with North Powder.

Contacted Wednesday, Harris said she has another reason for quitting.

“The other thing that bothers me is having to put our children down. I don’t think that’s any of their (the state’s) business,” she said.

Elgin City Councilor Willie Williams said he has decided to quit, even though he has just six more months left on his term.

He noted that people assuming a position after April 15 or vacating a position before April 15 are not required to file. That strikes him as ludicrous, he said.

“It means I could quit now, be reinstated later and not have to file,” he said.

Cove City Councilor Scott Johnson said during Tuesday’s meeting he plans to resign as well.

City councils throughout the region plan to discuss the situation further in their April sessions.