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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad May 9, 2005 Tuneberg should keep open hand on future AFN On Tuesday night, the Ashland City Council will debate whether to hire a new leader for the Ashland Fiber Network who would be under the supervision of Ashland Finance Director Lee Tuneberg. Council opinion is mixed, with some members wanting a new AFN leader to be strong and independent, on par in authority with other department heads and not under Tuneberg. They argue such a leader would be better able to make AFN competitive and agile enough to respond to market forces and technological change. Others wonder if AFN even has a future as a city-owned enterprise. If the council does decide to hire a new leader and make him or her a department head, the finances of AFN should still be closely scrutinized by Tuneberg. Tuneberg, along with current AFN and Electric Department Director Dick Wanderscheid, has ushered in a new era of openness and financial accountability for AFN — something that was severely lacking under former AFN and Electric Department Director Pete Lovrovich. Several years ago, two Tidings reporters went to interview Lovrovich and ask for financial information about AFN. Lovrovich insisted the information did not exist, while also saying that if it did exist, it would not be available to the public because its release would put AFN at a competitive disadvantage. A subordinate AFN employee intervened and said the information could be made available. That information showed AFN was falling far short of meeting financial projections. Current AFN and finance department staff have worked diligently to prepare quarterly AFN reports at the request of the council. Using customer information and other data provided by AFN, Tuneberg also has taken on the Herculian task of developing long-range forecasts — in an admittedly volatile industry — that show continuing deficits for AFN. All that information is open to the public. A new AFN leader likely would be recruited through a nationwide search, and while that search would no doubt be thorough, the person would be unknown to the community. There is no guarantee the new person would be completely open — or trustworthy. Any new AFN leader should have strong business skills and be allowed to use his or her expertise in the telecommunications industry, but must be subject to Tuneberg's oversight on financial matters. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.