Audio from Potter Candidate's Forum

Potter held a county-wide candidate's forum Thursday night at the American Legion Hall.

Candidates for Clerk of the District Court, County Sheriff and County Clerk participated, and the full house also heard from State Senator Ken Schilz.

For those who were not able to make it to Potter, here are the audio recordings of the various parts of the hour-long event. The event was recorded with permission of moderator, Kirk Enevoldsen.

Master of Ceremonies, Kirk Enevoldsen welcome message:


Clerk of the District Court Candidate Debra Hume:


Clerk of the District Court Candidate Deanna Volkmer:


Clerk of the District Court Questions and Answers:


County Sheriff Introductions by Kirk Enevoldsen:


County Sheriff Candidate John Jenson:


County Sheriff Candidate Patrick Jenks:


Introduction of County Clerk Candidates:


County Clerk Candidate Beth Fiegenschuh:


County Clerk Candidate Sarah Deaver:


Statement from State Senator Ken Schilz:


Closing remarks from Kirk Enevoldsen:

The Letter from Susan Ernest

Hi Julie,
Sorry it took me so long. I wasn't around my computer today.
S

March 4, 2010

To:
Gary Person
Jordan Ball
Jo Houser
Geri Anthony
John Henke
Members of the Sidney City Council



Due to the conflict that has gone on in the past couple months there have been changes made to the process of obtaining public information from City Hall. While I do not disagree that the changes have been made I am concerned by the so called “equality and fairness” that a blogger recently claimed. I have no issue with filling out the newly formed “freedom of information” paperwork, paying five dollars for the DVD of the council meetings or even paying ten cents per copy when we request information. Other government entities that KSID requests information from have their own rules. All of this came about in order to “make it fair for all media”. Even the media packets have changed so that Mike Rowland doesn’t have to come to City Hall to pick up the media packets that are made available to anyone upon request. Again I don’t have a problem with this new procedure as it was convenient and worked well. However, KSID, The Sun Telegraph and a few other citizens are the only ones abiding by your new rules. Mike Rowland, blogger of Guardian news, only emails his questions and actually receives answers to those via email by city personnel. Responding to emailed questions only enables that information to possibly be skewed by changing the wording and forwarding it on to others. He has not filled out the “freedom of information” paperwork or pay for anything, yet he screams inequality the loudest.

I received a phone call from the city attorney, offering the page he read during the council meeting on Tuesday evening, February 23rd. He stated that since the “blogger” had requested it that he would offer it to us and the Sun Telegraph. While I greatly appreciated the effort put forth by Jordon Ball to make sure all was “fair”, Mike still did not sign the paperwork for “freedom of information” and did not have to pay for the copy or the postage as it was MAILED to him. In addition, the time Mr. Ball spent on this foolish request is billable to the city. I thanked Mr. Ball for the offer of the paper but declined a copy.

The grand slam was the fact that this “blogger” took the seat of the local newspaper reporter at the press table during the February 23rd council meeting. While I will not argue whether or not this “blogger” has the right to be there, I do believe he needs to go through the proper channels to get his seat at the table.



KSID has been covering Sidney City Council news since 1952.
Below is a list of our credentials as a longtime reputable community news source:
1952-2009 ABC Radio Affiliate. Paul Harvey did his 15 minute newscast from the KSID studios in 1955.
1952-Present: Member and contributor of the Associated Press
1954-Present: Member of National Association of Broadcasters.
2002-2003 Susan Ernest serving two years on the NAB Small Market Radio Board
2004-2005 Susan Ernest receiving all expense paid scholarship to attend the NAB Broadcast Leadership Training class. One weekend per month for one year, all expenses paid to Washington D.C. for women and minorities who are purchasing radio/television stations.
1952-Present: Member of Nebraska Broadcasters Association
David W. Young served as Director, President and is in the NBA Hall of Fame
David S. Young served as Director for 3 terms
Susan Ernest served 2 terms as Director 2004-2008
1988-Present: Affiliate of the Husker Sports Network
Affiliate and Contributor of Nebraska Radio News Network
Dave Collins regularly contributes stories that are broadcast throughout Nebraska
Affiliate Learfield Broadcast Network
Affiliate Brownfield Radio Network
2009-Present: Affiliate with Fox Radio Network
2006-Present: Member IBIB International Broadcasters Idea Bank

Since 2005 KSID has been the recipient of 17 news cast and sports play by play awards through the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and the Northwest Broadcast News Association.

KSID also has www.ksidradio.com and is a member of the Associated Press on the web as well.
Some statistics on our website include:
Page views from Jan 1, 2009 through Dec 31, 2009 were 1,982,054.
Jan 2010 total page views were 212,490
Feb 2010 total page views were 227,277.
I would estimate our numbers for 2010 will be over 2.4 million.
www.ksidradio.com averages 30 listeners per game per station on our streams.
www.ksidradio.com averages 40 listeners online daily during Swap Shop.

Where are Mr. Rowland’s credentials and why is he allowed to circumvent the rules the city has put forth? The counter on his blog says 4,100 for one year. While I agree there is a large trend in blogging/journalism that should not be ignored, any media outlet/journalist or even a real blogger, would not publish innuendo or hearsay, yet he does. He also published a slanderous, anonymous letter on his blog. Again I reiterate, his BLOG. In searching news blogs and bloggers, it is in bad form to “publish” such information under the guise of a true journalist, especially when these so called journalists are fighting for the legitimacy of their blogs.

I think if you look at the Sun Telegraph’s credentials as well, you would find a long and impressive list of affiliates and awards. You would also be able to get information on their circulation, web page views etc.

The fact that Mike Rowland had to arrive so early to take someone else’s seat at the table without first providing credentials or asking is a slap in the face to paid professionals trying to do their jobs. If Mike wants to be considered “press or media” he needs to provide his credentials and follow the rules you have set forth for the rest of us.

Sincerely,





Susan Ernest, GM KSID Radio Inc. Pres/CFO Dead-Short Broadcasting LLC



On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 2:17 PM, Julie Young wrote:
Could you send me a copy of the letter you sent? I would like to post it on my blog so people could read the entire letter and not just hear one side of it.

Julie

Just been feeling under the weather.

It was asked why I have not been posting. Perhaps someone has finally gotten control over me or maybe I found something I did not like. NOPE, I just have not been feeling the best and have been dealing with that. But it's nice knowing the anonymous people of Sidney were thinking of me.

Powers of City Manager and City Attorney

With all the discussion of who has "power" I wondered what the state statutes had to say.

19-646. City manager; powers; duties.
The powers and duties of the city manager shall be (1) to see that the laws and ordinances are enforced, (2) to appoint and remove all heads of departments and all subordinate officers and employees in the departments in both the classified and unclassified service, which appointments shall be upon merit and fitness alone, and in the classified service all appointments and removals shall be subject to the civil service provisions of the Civil Service Act, (3) to exercise control over all departments and divisions thereof that may be created by the council, (4) to attend all meetings of the council with the right to take part in the discussion but not to vote, (5) to recommend to the council for adoption such measures as he or she may deem necessary or expedient, (6) to prepare the annual budget and keep the council fully advised as to the financial condition and needs of the city, and (7) to perform such other duties as may be required of him or her by sections 19-601 to 19-648 or by ordinance or resolution of the council.

16-319. City attorney; duties; compensation; additional legal assistance.
The city attorney shall be the legal advisor of the council and city officers. The city attorney shall commence, prosecute, and defend all suits and actions necessary to be commenced, prosecuted, or defended on behalf of the city, or that may be ordered by the council. He shall attend meetings of the council and give them his opinion upon any matters submitted to him, either orally or in writing as may be required. The mayor and city council shall have the right to pay the city attorney additional compensation for legal services performed by him for the city or to employ additional legal assistance and to pay for such legal assistance out of the funds of the city. Whenever the mayor and city council have by ordinance so authorized, the board of public works shall have the right to pay the city attorney additional compensation for legal services performed by him for it or to employ additional legal assistance other than the city attorney and pay such legal assistance out of funds disbursed under the orders of the board of public works.

Map of Current City Limits

Because of all the comments on the post here, I thought it might be a good idea to put up a picture of the city limits on South 11th Ave.

I was at the council meeting a few years ago when Greg Huck was asking to have his development annexed. I don't remember the exact details, but as they discussed various annexation suggestions, Filsinger moved that Weiderspon's land be excluded from the annexation. People asked Weiderspon's opinion on the matter, and he said nothing.

Of course he abstained from the vote, but that is why his clinic sits on that strange peninsula of land that is surrounded by the city. In fact, the Verde Lane Dam is city property, just not technically in the city limits.

On the map below, the bright green line shows the current city limits. The words "CITY LIMITS" are OUTSIDE of the city limits. Click on the image to see it larger.

Setting Things Straight

My question for council regarding financial matters was derailed by the sudden panic that I might be making accusations. Let me set it straight.

I was not there to accuse, I was there to point out a few facts that I had gathered.

I requested information from the city offices about all funds paid to ALL city council members or to businesses owned by council members in the past 2 years.

Among those numbers were the travel reimbursement amounts paid to Gaston and Hiett. No big deal. No disclosure statements necessary.

I was not attempting to imply that Van Vleet had done anything wrong, only to point out that his last disclosure statement was signed in 1993, during a previous stint on council. I merely wanted to suggest that he consider filing a new form, if appropriate. He jumped to the conclusion that I was questioning his sale of iron to the city. I couldn't care less, as long as the relationship is disclosed properly. He has every right to do business with the city.

I merely wanted to point out that Weiderspon's disclosure is current and in order. If I have any question at all about his contract with the city, it would simply be to ask how the bills from him are reconciled against the services rendered.

Regarding Filsinger, my main point is that he has never filled out a financial disclosure form, required by law, to fully disclose the nature of his business dealings with the city. We know that he loans equipment to the city, but we don't know the city's obligation in return. A disclosure form would totally remedy the confusion over issues such as the Fedex matter discussed Tuesday. It would also stop ALL rumors of his intentions.

I checked again on Friday. No new disclosures have been done. Because I asked in an open meeting, they can no longer blame the city attorney for their own ignorance of the law. I will continue to check, and will let you know as soon as anything changes.

The reason for the questions was public perception

I did say personnel file, mea culpa. What Bob asked for was "Why was the crew leader position created and by whose request."

The question to Bob was why would you ask for this the very next day after Palmer spoke out in a meeting? He has been in this job for 5 years. And by all accounts has done it very well. In speaking with people who work with and around him he is a very good employee. So again, why the day after? The public perception and the perception of some of the city employees was and is, "if you speak up we will get you." And the mayor said "How can we do anything, Gary runs the city?" Can he really not understand the threat felt when a councilman requests information on you? I have no power over council, but look how they felt when I questioned their actions.

I want to make it very clear. I did not say Bob is a bad person. I do not think Bob is a bad person. In fact I voted for Bob. I heard from a third party that Bob is concerned with the type of business that is being recruited to town. I would like to hear it from Bob during a council meeting. If what I was told is true, Bob has a good point, if it was his point. That goes back to wanting open meetings open. I want to hear what the councilmen have to say about the economic development/city manager job.

As far as the amounts being paid to councilmen, Bob turned that entire topic into something about him. I said he signed a disclosure form in 1993 on his last time around on the council. How did he know to fill one out then, but not this time? How is it that the Mayor's disclosure is current and the others are not?

It is not Jordan's job to make sure they fill out the disclosures. When you are elected, you are offered the chance to go to a class to be sure you know what you need to know. As I pointed out, Gaston and Hiett had been reimbursed expenses for just that. The "public perception" was that Filsinger said he would do something for free and then billed the city. Had he filled out the proper disclosure forms prior to doing the work everyone would have known just what he was doing. I asked them to follow the rules and laws. Again, this was NOT about Bob. It was about doing the councilman job completely and in the open. Even when they have the best intentions, but don't follow the laws, things get in a big mess.

As far as why did I go in front of them at a council meeting and not take each one aside to discuss these things personally, I have talked with the mayor about open meetings. I did not get much of a response from him. It was about the fair board that I spoke to him, but still everyone in attendance was asked to leave a public meeting by him. Why would I ask again? By making my request in public, they can't deny or say they did not know. I asked through proper channels if Marv had written understandings with the city years ago, and was told he has never agreed to a written disclosure. So again by doing it in public they can't deny they were told.

I read Bob's site, Pitchforks and Torches. It was Bob who put the whole idea in my head to bring it up in council. He said he did not read the unsigned letter. He went to the Tea Party and stood for what he believes. I didn't write a letter. I stood before him in public and asked my questions.

Bob is correct about getting our constitution back. But, I don't think we can ask Washington to do to the job right if we don't start at the local level.

This was sent to the paper.

Stacy,

Because you are Bob's daughter, I guess I should expect you to jump to the same conclusions as him before actually listening to what I was saying.

When I was talking about financial dealings between the city and the members of council, I wanted to make it clear that I was not singling anyone out. So, I pointed out the amounts paid to EACH councilman by the city in the past 2 years. Unfortunately, I was immediately interrupted before I could get to my real point by your father and others.

The only purpose in bringing up the subject was to ask them to keep their required disclosure documents current. Your dad and all of the council members certainly have a right to do business with the city. I have no problem with that. None at all. However, the people have a right to fully understand the financial arrangements between their elected officials and the public funds they are responsible for overseeing. That's why the law requires that they have current disclosure forms on file. I simply want them to abide by the law.

They are responsible for knowing the law on this matter.

I have no idea how you came to the conclusion that I want your dad thrown in jail.

I pointed out that when I asked about how these matters are enforced, I was told that I could file suit, or file complaints and have them investigated. I simply investigated them myself and went to the meeting to ask them to comply without going to such drastic means.

I stated at the beginning what my purpose was. I want fair, honest and open government from our council. I want discussions about important city matters conducted in public, instead of behind closed doors. I want them to stop violating their own rules by interfering with city staff. I want them to comply with ALL of the city and state ordinances that they expect us to comply with.

I have not asked for fines.
I have not asked for penalties.
I have not asked for decisions to be overturned.
I have not asked for resignations.
I have not asked for recall petitions.

I ask only for open discussions in public meetings and full disclosure of financial arrangements according to the law. I am offended when they simply thumb their noses at the rules that govern them and expect us to do nothing out of fear.

Your dad should have listened to what I was saying instead of jumping to the conclusion that he did. It wasn't easy standing up there and talking about these things. That's why so few people do it.

Closed Meeting from May 26, 2009

Well, I'm on the agenda for tomorrow night's council meeting. I've got a few questions about open meetings and I hope we can shed some light on the procedure required for closing a meeting to the public.

Here is a video of the May 25, 2009 meeting where they went into closed session. I'm not a lawyer, but that doesn't mean I can't read the law and tell you what I think it means. I think they were clearly in the wrong for the way they have been going about their business behind closed doors. Read the law, and let me know what you think.

Want to read the Open Meeting Statutes?

Sidney's self-appointed Guardian, in an effort to be helpful, says he has posted the entire contents of Nebraska's open meetings law on his site...I was going to comment there, but I changed my mind because I know that it'll get published here.

Mike...contrary to what you state at the beginning of your post, you have not posted the actual open meeting law as displayed in council chambers.

You have copied and pasted word for word, the helpful interpretation provided by Jon Bruning, Nebraska Attorney General, on his site.

Bruning's information is helpful because he gives case law that helps shed light where the law itself can possibly be misunderstood, perhaps by council members thinking that a closed session to hire a new lawyer is somehow legal (just whose reputation were they trying to protect?).

Or perhaps by a council thinking that they can meet to discuss "personnel" without giving the person being discussed the opportunity to have that discussion in the open...in fact, not even inviting that person into the closed meeting.

These were the situations at the closed sessions convened by the Sidney City Council last year. Of course, these facts are not convenient to you, Mike, and I imagine you will discount them, although the videos prove that those are the facts.

Before you start screaming to me to file a complaint, consider that someone would have to pay a lawyer to file this complaint and since council took no action, there is nothing to void or correct. I simply seek to keep them from doing it again, which is clearly their intent from their public statements. Although if a lawyer stepped forward and offered to file the complaint pro-bono, I'd gladly sign it. Why? Because the next time they do it, it would be a second offense and carry possible jail time.

By the way, I'm not just talking about Van Vleet, Weiderspon and Filsinger. Gaston and Hiett may not have always voted no, but they went into the meetings and didn't come out and tell us that the meetings were improper. As they say, ignorance of the law is no defense.

In case you are interested, the actual laws can be read in their entirety on the Nebraska Legislature's site. Go to the Nebraska Legislature site and scroll all the way down to where the law begins at section 84-1408.

Anyway Mike, because you are such a stickler for facts and accuracy, I thought you would want to know all this.

Here's the video from May 12, 2009. Go read the statutes. Go read Bruning's interpretations. Bob wants to protect people's reputations in case he says something that might be misconstrued as negative. The law says he must invite those same people into the meeting with him unless they request an open session. And we have a right to know who they are talking about.

Taxes

Total City of Sidney tax evaluation per $100 in 1998 .325313, total for 2009 .420347. The increase over the past 11 years .095034.

So over 11 years, we had a city tax increase of less than ten cents per $100. The city has grown, so more people are paying tax. Valuation of land back in 1998 was $178,959,068 and current valuation is $372,735,802 total increase of $193,776,734. The maximum that the city could levy is .50 according to the law.

So, the city manager and department heads suggest a budget, but in the end it is our city councilmen who approve that budget. And when we have a tax increase it is our councilmen who approve that.

Over the weekend I came across an old story about taxes. Today I spoke with the author and she has given me permission to link to it.

I just have to ask, how can we say the current city manager/economic development manager is not doing his job?

Public Policy should be Conducted in Public

Nebraska law declares "that the formation of public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret. Every meeting of a public body shall be open to the public in order that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies"

Van Vleet declared at the meeting on January 12 that council had ALREADY met twice in closed session to discuss changing the city ordinances regarding city manager and economic development duties. This is a clear violation of the statute, regardless of whether they took any action. In this instance, there was no illegal meeting, rather an illegal use of a closed session. The proof is Van Vleet's own admission from his seat during the council meeting. While the statute allows closed sessions for personnel issues, this is clearly policy, not personnel.

On the subject of illegal meetings, the Nebraska Attorney General has also noted quite a few other disallowed methods for accomplishing the same thing as a face-to-face meeting, including emails, phone calls and the like. This issue is quite difficult to prove unless the 3 councilmen tip their hand and show up to a meeting with a set of documents that the other 2 don't have. My opinion is that they had indeed discussed this policy change by some means prior to the official council meeting and had documents in hand that they were prepared to use in their closed session to amend the ordinance. The law says that you and I have the right to be a part of that discussion. I want to hear the reason why they are making choices.

Don't you think that they should know the open meetings law inside and out so they can abide by it? They point it out at every meeting, but they don't seem to have studied it.

Personnel or Public Policy

Personnel issues, contract negotiations and discussion of lawsuits are allowed behind closed doors by public bodies. Policy changes and the tentative drafting of ordinances is not. When council goes into a closed session to discuss personnel, it is done for the protection of the privacy of the individual. Hard to see how these sessions apply.

Public Perception

At Tuesday night's meeting some council members said the problem with the City Manager/Economic Development is "public perception." The mayor said that the public did not understand why the jobs were combined. Van Vleet said that some people mistakenly believe that Person receives two pay checks for the job. He went on to say that he always corrects this issue with any citizen he speaks with.

Later in the same meeting, when asked by local media, councilmen Van Vleet, Widerspoon and Filsinger each gave a different answer to why they seek to remove Person from his city manager duties. Those answers had nothing to do with public perception. Several people in attendance asked for clarification from these councilmen and none was given. I would have to say public perception is a problem. But not with the city manager, but with the councilmen themselves.

I understand why the job was combined but I also was in attendance back in 1999 when the discussion was had and the decision was made. Fiscal and financial decisions were made for very sound reasons. Current councilmen would like to undo this and create more expenses for the city, possibly resulting in higher taxes for us.

It's obvious from the comments that 3 of the council communicate about these matters outside of the meetings, maybe not all 3 at once, but their discussions and decisions are not taking place in an open environment where the public can have access to their reasons.

The purpose stated for the Nebraska Open Meetings act is "It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state that the formation of public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret. Every meeting of a public body shall be open to the public in order that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of Nebraska, federal statutes, and the Open Meetings Act."

Even if they are careful never to be all 3 in the same place together, the simple fact that they are always in agreement, nearly always silent and the other 2 council members (Gaston and Hiett) are kept unaware of their plans is a violation of the open meeting law in spirit if not in a literal sense.

Even if you take into account the mayor's bumbling and poor grammar in his statement, his intention couldn't be more clear. The matter won't be brought up in an open meeting until after a discussion has already been held.

Mayor's Statement

Item 1 Open Meeting Law

Item 2 Approval of the Minutes

Item 3 on Statement of the Mayor

As far as the issue of the city management restructuring there (?has/was) quoted in the paper as bein' delayed until August, but at this time we will be discussin' it...at any time that it comes up throughout the year. Having said that...to begin with, we'll take proposals from all the council members about restructuring. And when there is somethin' to be brought forward to discuss, we'll bring that forward. So if everybody has a proposal...or don't have a proposal...bring it forward. We'll put it together and we'll discuss it and then we'll go from there. And then we'll just bring it to a meeting.

Gaston: Proposal for restructuring of what?

Weiderspon: City management. Any other discussion or comments on it?

This was taken word for word from the video purchased from the city today.

The Builder

This poem is written by a unknown author.

I have to ask if this is going on in Sidney?

The Builder

I saw them tearing a building down
A team of men in my hometown.
With a heave and a ho and a yes yes yell,
they swung a beam and a sidewall fell.

And I said to the foreman, "Are these men skilled?"
"Like the ones you'd use if you had to build?"
And he laughed and said, "Oh no, indeed...
the most common labor is all I need...
for I can destroy in a day or two
what takes a builder ten years to do."

So I thought to myself as I went on my way...
Which one of these roles am I willing to play?
Am I one who is tearing down as I carelessly make my way around?
Or am I one who builds with care, in order to make the world a
little better... because I was there?

Which roles are the players in this game taking?

The Sidney Citizen part 2

I'm going to continue my comments on the rest of the anonymous letter that's been circulating about. Here we go.

"The City of Sidney is now in an economic crises. Or, were we supposed to know that? Person explains how the State of Nebraska is keeping our local sales taxes to pay the state's economic development package. Of the nearly $700,000 sales taxes collected in recents months, the state has or plans to keep over 450,000 for economic development. While it is argued whether this is a state of local responsibility, this, too, is another cost of economic development. The Economic Development Director may not want to look at that way, but the City manager should be looking at every way possible to reduce costs for the city. Is This another conflict of interest as the result of combining the Jobs? It would appear so."

Nope, I have not read the letter, but, was told that our city manager sent a letter asking for the money (signed by council members) and is looking for every possible was to get it back. Just like other city managers in Nebraska are doing. I am currently looking for a copy of the letter or where it was read in public.

"Is the City Manager preparing our community for additional financial shortfalls? According to the coffee shoppe talk, Person recently advised his staff to trim travel costs because of local business had told him, out of courtesy to the city, they were going to file a claim for an additional 300,000 of refunds to to economic development programs. Just travel costs? Are there not any state or local reporting requirements or cost projections for economic development programs? Has this ben discussed at a council meeting for the benefit of the public's knowledge? Have city council members been informed of this? What is the city manager doing to prepare the city for this shortfall?"

I have heard in more than one meeting that is a concern. And I'm very pleased to know that all departments are looking at cutting cost. I would hope that it's not just travel. As far as has he advised council I don't know. I would also like to know if council has asked.

"The City of Sidney is in the process of hiring a new Chief of Police after the unexpected retirement? of the former chief. Makes it sound like the public is not being informed of everything. Although city council members were part of the initial scoring process, everyone else involved in the process are either hand selected by the city manager or appointed by the city manager. In the end, the ultimate decision is made by one person, the city manager."

I also have heard the word on the street about our former chief, don't know really what was what on that. I can say he told me over a year ago just how many months he had left to retirement. And his retirement was in line with that. If there is more to the story one would have to ask if it is a personnel issue and just can't be discussed. As far as council members not being involved at the last meeting they were all asked to be in the interviewing process. If that was the city manager hand picking I guess that is what he did. BTW none of them gave an answer to his question about being involved. Also, in case we forget, it's the city manager's job to find a replacement for our police chief.

"Many of the comments at the city council meeting indicated that Person was irreplaceable. The apparent theme was that only Gary could do both jobs. Then one speaker commented that after a short period of mourning everyone would continue on. Irreplaceable? Really?"

Everyone is replaceable without exception. Gary has done both jobs, and by most accounts, done them well. But he is replaceable. The bigger question for me was and is, why now? What has happened to push for this change now? If council feels that he is in someway misleading council and the citizens of Sidney I want to hear it loud and clear. And if they feel this, why are we finding out about in in an anonymous letter? Is it not each and every councilmen's duty to let us know? I voted for the 3 councilmen in question, because I thought they would ask the hard questions in public. I want the right balance for our city. I don't want them to just be bullies. I have had city employees tell me how Filsinger has ripped them about the job they are doing. That is not what a councilman is for. And if they determine that Gary is not capable of keeping his employees doing their job they need to take it up with him. Solve the problems in public just as we elected them to do.

"also, comment was made regarding the use of an outside attorney by council. After hearing another of the City Attorney's dissertations, with no real opinion clearly expressed, one has to ask if the City Attorney represents the City, Person, or the City Council Members. Did he contact Mr. Van Vleet to discuss the agenda item and provide any guidance or advice regarding that item? Or did he solely counsel Person.

I asked the question that Ball answered and I understood it. And when does an attorney give a short answer? The City attorney works for all of them. I would have to ask Van Vleet if he called the city attorney or the other that he wanted hired.

During the July 14, 09 meeting Council Member Van Vleet proposed that the Council hire Joel Jay of Chappell to act as legal council to the city council whenever council may need additional legal advice and/or there is possible conflict of interest cases. After discussion, Van Vleet moved, Filsinger seconded "That Joel Jay be hired as legal council to the city council whenever council may need additional legal advice and/or there is possible conflict of interest cases." Three of the five councilmen voted yea on this. How is current council supposed to know what is a conflict and what is not. Council is writing the rules on this one. So if Van Vleet has a question of the city attorney he should pick up the phone and call.

Why should the taxpayers be paying for legal advice to council members? Where does attorney-client privilege fall on this one? As tax-payers, we deserve to know what this attorney is being paid to advise our council members to do and say. Are the two council members who voted not to hire Joel Jay involved in discussions with him? Where does this issue fall in regards to open meetings law?

When I asked how many citations had been written to councilman Filsinger for the messes he has on his property I was told the City Attorney would have a conflict of interest in that area and would have to send it to the City Manager to hire outside council. So the way I look at this in a year of budget short-falls the city councilmen are causing more expenses with attorneys than this city needs.

The big question remains: Do we really have a problem, or is this a power grab? If there is a problem, council owes it to us to put it on the table.

The Sidney Citizen

I have a copy of the letter sent to councilmen, city manager and a few select citizens. I would hope that every citizen is a concerned one. To assume only the ones who will speak out are concerned is very incorrect. Some will go to a meeting and some will just sit in the coffee house and complain. Homeowner, renter, business owner or just a student we all benefit or lose as the wheels of our government move.

This is a 4 page letter and I would be happy to forward it to anyone who would like it. I will address several issues it brings up. I will put the "concerned citizen's" comments in quotes. Due to the length I will do this in two posts.

"It would appear that each person who spoke at the meeting of January 12 had benefited directly from Garys position as City Manager and/or his role as Economic Development Director. They were either employed directly by him, or they were recipients of economic development monies, or served on one of his many boards. It was also assumed by most that everyone there was to support Mr. Person."

I can tell you that none if the above has been the case for me. If anything I have been a pain in his side. Gary does not have boards, the city does. And I would like to know how volunteering time to serve on a board that benefits everyone in the city if not county is considered lucky. Those people spend time energy and effort only to be criticized by others who won't do it.

"This writer has listened to the "word on the street" and now feels compelled to request public action by the Sidney City Manager and the Sidney City Council. Their are a number of concerned citizens and city employees in the community that don't speak out. Reasons vary from fear of public bashing to fear of repercussions at city hall. Some city employees have been banned by city management from speaking directly to any city councilmen on any subject."

This writer has also listened. And it is time to put this issue to bed. People are tired of all the grumbles going on in our town. We have citizens and city employees on both sides of the issue. We have city employees who are worried about what some councilmen will do to them. Some that would very much like to speak up for the city manager. I have spent the last 10 days asking and have listened to what they have to say. Non said they were banned by city management from talking to councilmen. I was told that if a councilman has a problem with a city employee that they will take it up with the city manager. The city manager, department head or HR person will handle it with the employee. This is a standard structure of business so that the employees do not have the confusion of several bosses telling them what to do. This also protects the city from law suites.

"The City Manager is hired by and answers directly to the City Council. This did not appear to be the case at the council meeting. He seemed to forget, as he was lambasting the council members, that he works for them. They have the power to hire and fire the city manager. Most employees would have been either reprimanded or fired for the insubordination he displayed during a public meeting"

First, this would indicate to me that the concerned citizens who wrote this letter are well aware that council can fire the city manager. And that if said manager had done one thing that they could fire him for they would have. Councilman VanVleet asked for his remarks, asked for his comments. That is not insubordination. If you don't want to hear what someone has to say don't ask. We do not want our city manager to be the lap dog for council nor do we want council to be the yes guys for our city manager. Only when they both do the job in public as the public meeting laws state do we as citizens benefit. Checks and balances are always good to have.

"There is an inherent and obvious conflict of interest between the two job positions currently filled by Person. As a city manager, one should focus on the efficient and economical operation of the city. As the director of economic development, the loyalty is to sell the community to prospective businesses and industry. It is commonly noted that no other community has these two roles combined. Why is that? Is it because there are conflicting duties between the two jobs? Person explained how every department gets involved in his economic development projects, did he forget the taxpayers are paying for that involvement? Is it possible the true costs of economic development are hidden in the process of having these job combined? Are the true costs being accurately separated, tracked and reported by the manager or city clerk/treasurer? "

I'm not seeing this, in selling the community would he not want to show that the city is also efficient with it's tax dollars? And I would suggest that some of you make a few calls to other cities. When I ask about the city departments helping or speaking with prospective business who may move to their communities everyone said YES. Find out how much time city managers spend with the economic development people. If you can find a business who is interested in a town let alone one our size it's all hands on deck. The stimulation of new business and increase of tax base (even the possibility of one) has communities all over the lower 48 doing what ever they can. The comment about the true cost and what is the city clerk/treasurer would be funny if it was not so bad. We have an accounting firm that has to audit all of the city's books. They have to sign off that things are being done as spelled out to it's citizens. This accusation would mean not only was the city manager and clerk/treasurer are in on something but also the accounting firm.

"It was stated that person gets paid for one job - city manager. Does he actually perform all of the city manager's duties, or have several of those duties been delegated to other city employees, who also receive additional compensation for performing those duties. The two mentioned by name in the letter are Human resources, a role that would normally be a part of the city manager's duties? And Public Services Director is this another duty delegated by the city manager? Now, how much is the city manager/economic development director package costing the City of Sidney?"

One only has to go to the city and ask about the history of these jobs. Human Resources has a very long history going back to a young Jack Lowe. That would be for over 30 years. It has not always been a job the city has filled. We did have a time we went without one. Because no one was doing the job, the current human resources person was asked to take it. At times during the history of our city that was all the person did for the city. I would have to say the combination of jobs was a smart economical move. This was done to be sure the city was covered. It has never been done by the city manager. Public Services Director now most people know this job has been around longer than the current city manager. I have a 20 year history of who held it. Most of us also know why the prior PSD left. Once again this is not a job that was done by the city manager.

"Do all of Sidney's economic development accomplishments belong to Person? Consider the growth of Sidney, and the source of the majority of Sidney's growth and jobs....Cabela's. If the Cabela factor was taken out of the equation, how would Sidney and Person's economic development performance compare to the rest of the state? This writer would have to contend we, and Person would be average, at best."

Sorry writer again I'm going to have to say you are wrong. Prior to Cabela's corporate being built out on the interstate we had a very large struggle to keep them in town. Mr. Rohr who at the time was the CFO wanted the Corporate offices moved to Lincoln. At the time he stated we did not have the education system to provide employees to Cabela's and that Lincoln offered a better educated public and more of them. Dick Cabela thanked Person at a public announcement for the corporate office for his continuous work to keep corporate in Sidney. You have no idea how close we came to not having them in town.

At this point I'm half way through the letter. I gotta take a break. I have spent days getting information.

It's about the city

Who runs the City of Sidney?

In our current form of government (which has been in place since July of 1950) it would be the city manager. He reports to a council that sets the over all policy of the city. If the city council feels that the city manager does not do his job they can fire him. Prior councils have done just that. This is a very black and white issue. Why has current council allowed this to degrade to this level. If our current manager has done anything that could be grounds for termination I would hope they would have done just that. If they have a personal issue with him get it out of our city business and handle it in another way.

Councilman VanVleet said it is the voters who have the say. When he ran for office did he let us know about a personal agenda? I personally voted for the man and had no idea. I did know he said council needed some wisdom. I would have liked to know up front, not saying I would not have voted for him anyway, just would have liked to know up front. I feel all politicians should be transparent about their goals. We do need our city to run the best it can, and I hate taxes just like the next guy. This kind of stress and accusations can't be doing any city employee any good.