BIRCH BAY CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE

As Birch Bay residents establish a new municipality, they would be wise to include an ethics commission--elected by voters and independent of their city government--to investigate ethics complaints from its citizens. To empower the commission, the City of Birch Bay could adopt a code of ethics to guide the commission in its oversight responsibilities. The City of Ferndale code of ethics is a good example.

An ethics commission comprised of civic leaders, charged with preventing conflicts of interest from taking root in their city government, adds a layer of protection from government misconduct liability. Ensuring that the legally required public participation process--including access to public records--is followed by public officials cannot be left to the government to decide. Witness the incitement of violence against Blaine citizens demanding accountability from their government.

Take a lesson from Blaine on how not to conduct land use and water resource planning. Our government has done it all wrong, and has cost us our future in the process. The present conflict between Blaine citizens and Blaine's mayor traces back to the citizens request to establish a code of ethics for Blaine officials nine months ago, in the aftermath of self-dealing votes by Blaine City Councilman and developer, Mike Hill. In October, Hill organized a mob to threaten the citizens.