Give Them Enough Rope And They Will Hang Themselves.

“CM Helfrich said the previous council found a way to fund the fire department”

March 25, 2013, City Council Minutes.

“The following is an explanation of this action by Ruben Cleaveland, city Attorney:”

“Oregon courts have not definitively stated whether such action is administrative or legislative but it is a possibility they would find it administrative in nature if such a question were at issue. Such a finding would mean the charter amendment is not properly the subject of the legislative initiative process of the citizens. In the situation at hand, the Circuit Court would need to take declaratory action deeming the charter amendment was not proper and is thus, invalid. Council choose to go forth without the benefit of such declaration, choosing instead to risk the need to defend a lawsuit upon the advice may very well be administrative, but not upon the advice that it was in fact administrative.”March 25, 2013, City Administrator report in council packet.

All I can say about Mr. Helfrich’s statement is; Yes the previous gang of unelected thug councilors, who also did not call a special election in violation of the law, found a way to fund the fire department.

They were told there was a “possibility” that their action could be found to be administrative in nature or not. Meaning legal or illegal was a possibility. Not even the city attorney knew if it was. 

They were told the Circuit court would “need” to take declaratory action deeming the charter amendment was not proper and thus invalid. Not that the council could interpret it as the city administrator later says in his report.

Yet that council choose to go forth without that declaration of the court and risked the need to defend a lawsuit on a 50%/50% chance that what they were doing was legal under the law or a violation of the law. Not even the city attorney knew.

Now here is a surprise concerning the 10 day statutes of limitations the city thought they had.

Statutes of limitations are designed to aid defendants. A plaintiff, however, can prevent the dismissal of his action for untimeliness by seeking to toll the statute. When the statute is tolled, the running of the time period is suspended until some event specified by law takes place. Tolling provisions benefit a plaintiff by extending the time period in which he is permitted to bring suit.

Various events or circumstances will toll a statute of limitations. It is tolled when one of the parties is under a legal disability—the lack of legal capacity to do an act—at the time the cause of action accrues.
Therefore, the time limit will be tolled until some fixed time after the disability has been removed.

So citizens does Mr. Helfrich make a habit of putting the city at risk as this Administrators report clearly points out when he says in the minutes concerning this report, “the previous council found a way to fund the fire department”, when after all the reality is that council funded the fire department by ignoring the city attorney, the people, the charter, the law and deemed themselves Circuit Court Judges.

Did the City Administrator by declaring that statutes of limitations in his report really do a thorough risk assessment study on this issue?

As far as this administrative B.S. this city attorney is trying to sell us all. Let me put my 2 cents worth in on that.

According to the league of Oregon Cities;

If a city power is exercised to require or prohibit certain conduct independent of an existing legal requirement or prohibition the exercise is legislative: that is, lawmaking.

If the purpose is to execute or administer a requirement or prohibition, the power is executive or administrative.

If the purpose is to settle a dispute about a requirement or prohibition or how it is to be interpreted or applied, the power is judicial.

So riddle me this?

If the power of the council to require certain conduct from the citizens. In this case being the citizens pay 7% of our enterprise businesses gross revenues as well as $8.00 for a fire suppression fee just how is it administrative when it is clearly a legislative action to begin with?

Now our separation of powers in accordance to the League of Oregon Cities and our very charter, is known as a council/city administrator form of government.

Where the council holds legislative powers as well as quasi-judicial powers and the city administrator holds administrative powers.

Section 21 of our City Charter makes this clear.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR. There shall be a City Administrator who shall be appointed by and serve at the will of the City Council. The City Administrator shall be responsible to the City Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the City of Cascade Locks and for carrying out the policies established by the City Council.

So council establishes the policies legislatively and the city administrator is responsible to the council for the administration of "ALL" affairs of the city and for carrying out those policies.

As far as the council being able to interpret the charter here is 2 more of my cents worth.

That is a quasi-judicial matter. That would require a public hearing.

Then there is the matter of the 7% privilege tax that violates state law along with the violation of the law that makes clear that the city cannot spend electrical power and light revenue for any other purpose.

But the city does not want you people to be reminded of this again and this is also a part of this attorney opinion as stated in the administrators report. 

So citizens it is crystal clear to me now from that report that a great fraud has been committed against each and every one of us.

A fraud in violation of the law so great, that it affects the quality of ours and our families, friends and neighbors lives. So this city unlawfully seizes our financial assets in violation of the law, because why?

Because that council did not care about you, your families, your friends, your neighbors, your right to reasonable rates as required by law, your right to have rates set in accordance to the law and I could go on and on here.

But the bottom line is that council did not care about the law in any way as they proved time and time again.

All they cared about was themselves and what they wanted.

This administrators report proves just that.

 

Now I do not know about the rest of you but I want a refund since 2005 concerning the unlawful electrical rates not being set in accordance to the law, I want interest paid on my utility deposit, I want a refund on these unlawful privilege taxes and I want a refund on that additional $8.00 fire suppression fee before the time comes and I get a free ambulance ride for that service, I was forced to pay for when I already had private insurance which fully covered that in the event it happened.

 

Because what this city has been doing is nothing short of consumer fraud.

I also want to give a big thanks to our City Administrator for this written report. I promise I will, as I am now, put it to good use.

 

Cody