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Complete Text Of The Emergency Powers Ordinance Medford delays emergency law City Council wants closer look By JIM DAVIS The Medford City Council put off adopting a law that would give the city manager the power to establish curfews, prohibit public gatherings and close businesses during emergencies. Council members decided at their noon meeting Thursday to take a closer look at the ordinance. "I think we should deal with this in the future," said Councilman Sal Esquivel, noting that the mayor and two councilmen were absent. After the meeting, city staff members defended the law, saying that it creates a mechanism to finance emergency services and request aid during disasters. "You'll find the ordinance all over the country," said Medford City Manager Michael Dyal. The law would allow the city manager to declare a "state of emergency" in times of crisis such as -- but not limited to -- floods, fires, terrorism, earthquakes and hazardous-waste spills. The law also would give the city manager broad powers, including the authority to ban the sale of alcohol and gasoline and the sale or carrying of weapons. Bill Mansfield, a former city attorney and councilman, said he was troubled by what he called excesses of the ordinance. "This goes way too far," Mansfield said. "It threatens the right of people to congregate, it threatens the right of people to possess firearms, it threatens the right of people to operate a business." In Thursday's meeting, Medford Councilmen Skip Knight and John Michaels said the ordinance was misrepresented in an article in the Mail Tribune. Michaels said the newspaper was irresponsible, had taken a cheap shot and could have tied a story on the ordinance with "space aliens." Knight said he disagreed with an Ashland attorney's characterization of the ordinance as "martial law." He also criticized the Mail Tribune for speaking with Mansfield. Councilman Matt Hart said he was concerned about the ordinance being a slippery slope, and questioned some specifics in it -- such as blight being defined as an emergency situation. "I don't think there's enough oversight in this," Hart said. Council members then decided on the study session. After the meeting, Dyal, Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler, Police Chief Eric Mellgren and several other staff members held a news conference. Dyal said that in other communities where he has served, the power to declare emergencies was given to the mayor or to the council instead of the city manager. He said the ordinance could be changed to give elected officials those powers. Bierwiler said the intent behind the ordinance is to allow any city funds to be used for such things as overtime for firefighters and police officers. Bierwiler said the city tried to make the ordinance "all-encompassing." He said there is a reason for every provision. Curfews, for instance, could be used to calm riots. "We just don't know what the future holds," Bierwiler said. "We're just trying to prepare for anything." He said city staff will try to educate the public and the City Council about the law. Mansfield said he would be happier if the ordinance's power wasn't delegated to the city manager. But he said the ordinance still raised serious constitutional questions. "The ordinance must be read in terms of what it can do, not in terms of what the parties now intend it to do," Mansfield said. Polly Nelson of the American Civil Liberties Union in Eugene asked how the city would have the authority to declare "home rule." "I realize that they say other cities are doing it around the country, but how did those other cities get the authority to do it?" she said. Medford Senior Assistant City Attorney Ron Doyle said the city can take any police action that is allowable under the state and federal constitutions. Police Chief Mellgren said the ordinance gives the city a lot of power during disasters. "It doesn't mean that we will use it," Mellgren said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA