Good Government

During the political season some can feel pressured to make inaccurate or misleading statements for perceived gain, and regrettably the current season is no exception. Many inaccuracies have been uttered about the proposed new crossing at NW Flanders Street over Interstate 405 that would reuse the center span of the existing Sauvie Island Bridge. This is a terrific project as the facts clarify.

Harvard Picks Lobbying Registration Code and Home Again - part of the 10 Year Plan To End Homelessness - as Two of the 50 Most Innovative Government Programs

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School today announced that the City of Portland's Lobbying Registration Code and the Multnomah County and Portland's Home Again made the Top 50 Programs of the 2008 Innovations in American Government Awards competition. Selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants, these 50 programs represent the best in government innovation from local, county, city, tribal, state, and federal levels. Each of the Top 50 programs underwent several rounds of rigorous evaluation from a committee of practitioners and policy experts from Harvard Kennedy School as well as renowned institutions nationwide. Representing a range of jurisdictions from across the country, the Top 50 programs include seventeen cities/towns, four counties, six federal agencies, three school districts, nineteen states and one tribal government.

By WILLIAM YARDLEY

SEATTLE - State and local governments in many parts of the country are struggling to pay for roads, bridges and other building projects because of rising construction costs, adding another burden to budgets already stressed by the troubled housing market.

OREGONIAN EDITORIAL - Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Seven years ago, then-City Commissioner Charlie Hales tried to add a novel road-repair fee to Portland utility bills. In the rear-view mirror, it's beginning to look like a smart maneuver. At the time, it felt like a swerve, both fast and slick.

As Sam's Public Advocate for transportation, the year 2007 continued to provide me with abundant opportunities to assist citizens with their questions and concerns regarding City services and projects. Specifically, the insightful and passionate inquiries we received challenged me, along with other bureaus throughout the City, to "think outside the box" and in turn to provide action-oriented responses to citizens seeking results.

In June 2005 Portland City Council agreed to endorse the Framework for Labor Management Committees in City Bureaus prepared by Bureau Innovation Project Team #6 to guide the establishment of Labor Management Committees within each City bureau Resolution # 36434

The project called upon city to form a joint work group of labor and management representatives to formulate a citywide scope of work for Labor Management Committees within each City bureau. The intent of the Labor Management Committees is to improve the delivery of services and responses to our citizens. Employees of all levels can contribute to the solutions with out retaliation. Workers feel valued for their skills and ideas. Management can learn to be a partner with the unions. The rate payer is ultimately served efficiently.

It has been a year since City Council approved Sam's proposal to enact an Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO). The EBO requires that contractors doing work on behalf of the City do all they can to offer equal benefits to their employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses.

On Wednesday August 8, Portland City Council unanimously voted to reduce the hourly threshold that triggers a lobbying entity's obligation to register with the auditors offices. The City Council believes that the threshold reduction will require more entities to disclose their lobbying activities. This action builds on Commissioner Adams' efforts to "daylight" political decision making and create a more accessible city government.

Under the changes, lobbying entities who spend more than eight hours "attempting to influence the official action of City officials" must register with the auditor. Under the original ordinance sponsored by Sam, elected officials and bureau directors must publish their official calendars. This is an effort to disclose who is meeting with city leaders and whose interests are being represented in the decisions of the council.

“PDOT has strongly endorsed the design that enhances separation… similar designs are employed in the world-class cycling cities… whose ridership levels, policies and practices we hope to emulate.”

Roll and Stroll with Portland Citizen's Disability Advisory Committee (PCDAC)

To raise awareness of how people with disabilities get around Portland, the Transportation Subcommittee of Portland's Citizen's Disability Advisory Committee (PCDAC) is hosting a special "Roll and Stroll" event from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, September 14, outside City Hall. City Commissioners Sam Adams and Dan Saltzman, along with PDOT Director Sue Keil and PCDAC members, will have a chance to use mobility devices that include but are not limited to wheelchairs and goggles along with white canes to assimilate what people with disabilities use daily to access Portland streets and sidewalks.

Portland Public Schools, in collaboration with the Portland Schools Foundation and the alternative educational options are sponsoring a Come Back Fair.

The Come Back Fair is an opportunity for youth that are no longer in school to get back on track and find an educational program that fits their needs.

We will be holding our next round of neighborhood open houses on transportation priorities and potential local funding options in September.

In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the nation an infrustructure report card.  Overall, the U.S. got the GPA equivalent of a "D."  America's total investment needs to shore up our infrastructure totalled $1.6 TRILLION, a number that increases as time passes.

Done years before recent high-profile tragedies, this report outlines a nation chronically under-investing in its infrastructure.

 

 

Portland's Roads and Bridges:

• Maintenance backlog at least $422 million, growing by $9 million a year today, the cost of maintenance deferral is escalating.

Sellwood Bridge:

Greensboro News Recorder Editorial - Opinion
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Aging infrastructure a huge, looming issue

It's like one of those Parade Magazine brain teasers. What do these have in common? Hurricane Katrina. Flight delays nationwide. A blast of steam in New York. A traffic-stopping sinkhole on Wendover Avenue.