Document text
2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Ashland Middle School student spearheads Nepal relief effort 10 things to know for Tuesday Fourth of July celebration theme is 'Be Active, Live Healthy!' Police Reports Rogue Valley police receive training in interacting with LGBTQ community Education Ashland Middle School student spearheads Nepal relief effort Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business Cars We Remember: Noted musician unravels 55-year Nash Rambler mystery 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Politics and elections City of Ashland to consider making recorder position appointive, not elective Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved State News Oregon's snowpack at just 11 percent of average Lack of snow nixes ski portion of popular Central Oregon race Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Oregon lawmakers begin minimum wage debate Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Death Notices Ronald Mitchell Betts Dickie Miles Hayes Death Notices Ines Tracey Thompson Compton Shareable Check out top import and export for every U.S. state Patriots fan sets up GoFundMe page to help pay for team's Deflategate fine Sports Latest Stories Stormy weather for footgolf kick-off day Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet Chris Singleton: No need for a rematch Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge High school Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Southern Oregon University Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team See you in August Same old Raiders Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Voices Latest Stories Kent Bush: Moral and ethical standards need to be higher Letters to the editor: Tuesday, May 12 Granlund cartoon: Grad party Dianne Williamson: Enough of ‘Say it isn’t so’ Chris Honoré: Supreme Court grapples with tradition, suffrage Editorial Our View: Forest work is a bargain Our View: What price history? Our View: Waging peace after war Our View: Rail car roulette Our View: Reading the tea leaves Letters Letters to the editor: Tuesday, May 12 Letters to the Editor, May 8 Letters to the Editor, May 6 Letters to the Editor, May 5 Letters to the Editor, May1 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Columns Chris Honoré: Supreme Court grapples with tradition, suffrage Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Matthew T. Mangino: Aging prisoners: An American crisis Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Movie listings: May 8-14 Dancing People Company presents 'Salon Series' 5 picks for live entertainment Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Theater Ticket Availability OSF to commission three new 'American Revolutions' plays Ticket availability Ticket Availability Ticket Availability Music The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Movie listings: May 8-14 Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Tammy Kelly: Add springtime crunch with cucumbers Options abound for gardens in shady spots Tricks and tips to enlarge your small bath Dr. Elaine Heffner: Mothers-in-law Fourth of July celebration theme is 'Be Active, Live Healthy!' Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Oregon's snowpack at just 11 percent of average ... Ticket Availability ... Rogue Valley police receive training in interacting with LGBTQ community ... Oregon's snowpack at just 11 percent of average ... Ticket Availability ... Rogue Valley police receive training in interacting with LGBTQ community ... ASHLAND City of Ashland to consider making recorder position appointive, not elective Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 10, 2015 at 5:44 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 10, 2015 at 5:44 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Elected without opposition • Christensen retains recorder seat • Recorder, judge candidates meet Thursday • Charter committee seeks input on recorders job • Christensen, city, true forerunners in openness » Social News The Ashland city council soon will explore the possibility of making the City Recorder an appointive, not elective position, breaking up many duties among other departments and reducing the pay.   The elective recorder is in the city charter, so the change would have to be approved by voters. At a council study session  Monday, May 4, c ity Administrator Dave Kanner said the primary election of May 2016 would be a good time to put the measure to voters, rather than calling a special election with added costs.    The present elected recorder, Barbara Christensen, who is currently serving her sixth term and has indicated she plans to retire and not run again, has said she leans toward supporting the change if the recorder answers to the mayor and council, but she said in a  Monday  email to them after the meeting that she would not be support changing the position to a classified appointive position if it was supervised by the city administrator.    Christensen’s four-year term is up in 2018. She has served in the post 21 years. At the  Monday  session, members lavishly lauded her performance. If voters approve the change, it would not be effective till her term expired. The post currently pays $83,712.    Councilwoman Pam Marsh said the job has become too complex and important to allow just anyone to run for it.   “It’s become highly technical and requires specific skills,” said Marsh. "It’s a little scary because the person with the skills may not be the person who likes to run for office. The recorder also doesn't deal with policy or other issues that require responsiveness to voters. It’s an extremely important job and it seems to make more sense for it to be appointive.”   Kanner, in a council communication, said the pay is about $5,000 higher than recorders with comparable duties in comparable cities. He said the League of Oregon Cities only knew of two other towns, both under 2,000 population, with elective recorders. He also said the post got higher cost-of-living-adjustments than department heads in recent years and he doesn’t consider the recorder to be at department head level.   Chistensen said the issue is not pay, but “keeping the integrity of the office and keeping it whole ... The office is an unbiased, elected position in City Hall that has the ability to work directly with citizens in the community. If the position is stripped (of its many tasks), you don’t have that.”   In the  Monday  email to the Mayor and Council, Christensen said, “The City Administrator indicated to you that if this position were to become ‘classified’ it would remain at the same level of compensation. But ... all the duties which the position now performs ... investments, treasury, banking ... liquor licenses, taxi licenses, etc. ... would be moved to the finance department.  So ... I guess if I were to move all the things I now do (other than attending council meetings, records management, elections) to finance ... that would be okay since I'm not really getting paid to do these things? There are many ‘holes’ in this rationalization and I would encourage discussion.”   Kanner, in an interview, said the change would involve moving the recorder’s “routine financial work” — investments, maintenance of the daily bank accounts, issuing of checks — to the Finance Department. He said it would save the city money in the long term. There should be no special election for the change, he added, as that would be more costly than at a regular election.   City Councilman Greg Lemhouse, at the council meeting, said the council has to address the questions about what duties should the recorder do, what is the right pay and should it be appointive.   The city charter in 1974 set the pay and said any increases given to department heads should be applied to the recorder also. The council, as they propose a change in the charter, could propose a change in this formula as well.    Several city councilors at the meeting — Stefani Seffinger, Rich Rosenthal and Carol Voison — expressed reservations about a shift to an appointed recorder, noting that many questions need to be answered.   In a  Wednesday  email to the mayor and council, Christensen said Kanner’s assesment of the Recorder’s pay was “biased.” She disputed Kanner’s comparisons of the pay with other similar cities and the pay increases for the recorder over the last 13 years. She wrote, “The percentage of pay increases (cited by Kanner) suggests that the City Recorder’s position was receiving pay raises when no one else was.” John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 10, 2015 at 5:44 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501