Bend Issues: Fire, Hydro and Elected Mayor

Three major issues: a hydroelectric plant, how the mayor position is filled and fire department staffing were all on the Bend City Council agenda Tuesday night.

It would cost $5.6 million to build but would generate $200,000 in the first year of operation — a hydroelectric plant to be built two miles outside the city, in conjunction with a major water-pipeline replacement, has some councilors enjoying the sound of it.

“I think most of the people on council are supportive of it because its going to save people money here,” Bend City Councilor Mark Capell said Wednesday evening.

Capell says the plan would cut water rates for residents, and the cost would be paid for by revenue from the power it generates. It’s something city consulting engineer Tom Hickmann was trying to persuade the council of.

“Any time something is generating money for a government entity, it’s usually a pretty positive thing,” Hickmann said.

Hickmann says it’s not just about the money but the environmental impact it will have.

“The amount of energy is enough to power 1,000 homes, or the equivalent of 1,100 vehicles per year removed from the road, in terms of carbon reduction,” Hickmann said.

Whether Hickmann and his team persuaded the council was left to be decided at the next council meeting, on Aug. 3. If the council does approve it, the hydro plant should be up and running by 2014.

Another issue raised of late is whether the council should have voters pick the mayor, rather than just be chosen among the council members.

“Most people in the city don’t recognize that the mayor isn’t elected,” Capell said. “Most people think the mayor is elected at large, but the council actually chooses the mayor.”

The committee came back and says there are pros and cons to each argument but in the end, it says the downsides are great, and they recommend not asking voters to make the change.

For example, while an elected mayor would be a higher-profile position, a mayor could be elected with little or no experience, who doesn’t get along well with the council and might, with the higher title (but no greater formal authority), be tempted to micro-manage staff, rather than stick to policy issues as the council is directed to do.

On the other hand, the committee noted that there’s a potential to develop greater relationships in the community, as well as the statewide and federal level. They also noted a directly elected mayor could “reduce the provincial image some have of our community.”

Having also discussed other options — the top vote-getter being mayor, for example, or doubling the mayor’s term to four years — the committee said it “generally agreed that there is no compelling reason to change the system to a directly elected mayor and that there are many risks in doing so.”

For some, it’s not about electing a mayor but having them stay longer.

“They no sooner get used to whats going on then poof, they are gone, your always reinventing the wheel. I don’t like that — it’s wasted time and effort,” said long-time Bend resident and frequent council visitor Mike Lovely.

The elected-mayor discussion was delayed to the Aug. 3 meeting due to Councilor Scott Ramsay’s absence.

Councilors did, however, formally acknowledge the new Bend Fire and Rescue deployment plan. That does not mean the agency will get to hire the dozen or more firefighters it says it needs to maintain service levels. Those tough decisions – again tied to funding – lie down the road.

“We have some hard decisions to make in the next couple years,” said Councilor Jodie Barram. “Hopefully we can work on that over this next biennium, and get something more stable in place. The up and down volatility of our public safety and services (funding) is not okay with me.”