Rod Sullivan, Supervisor, Johnson County, Iowa

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SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

March 25, 2008

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/25/08


I was recently at a meeting of the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC), where one of the topics of discussion was RAGBRAI.
A number of counties remain concerned over the wrongful death lawsuit settled out of court by Crawford County. In case you are not aware – in 2006, a RAGBRAI rider hit a crack in a Crawford County road, flew over his handlebars, and died. His estate sued, and Crawford County settled.
While there is some exaggeration and speculation on both sides of the issue, I find most County Supervisors statewide to be fools as far as this issue is concerned.
There exists some very common sense middle ground. Bike riders have every right to travel on county roads. That said, county roads are maintained at a level suitable for cars. Tiny cracks in county roads are a way of life. Bicyclists ride at their own risk. There. Done.
So many of these Supervisors are stuck in the 1940s. The attitude of “anything different is not welcome in my county” has gotten most of these counties in their current predicaments – meaning all the people who don’t die leave.
You want to ban RAGBRAI from your county? Fine. If 25,000 riders want to spend their whole week enjoying Johnson County, I welcome them.


The Iowa Legislature is working on an update to the state’s open meetings/records laws. Many of these changes are positive and well intentioned. While I appreciate the sentiment, I see a few major issues with the current proposal:

1. It changes the definition of “public records,” making it so broad that private e-mails sent from an elected official’s private computer would for the first time be public records;
2. It would force counties to redact social security numbers from thousands of older documents at a huge expense to taxpayers;
3. It would change the law so that disciplinary matters of county employees would be public records;
4. Public entities can get around almost every open records rule simply by stamping everything “DRAFT”; and most importantly,
5. It DOES NOT APPLY TO THE IOWA LEGISLATURE!

It amazes me that the Legislature has the gall to tell school boards, cities, and counties that they need to be more open, when they do the majority of their business (all public) behind closed doors.


Another Legislative issue: It was interesting to see the Republicans in the Iowa Legislature walk off the job last week and stop legislative work. Republicans basically went on strike over HF 2645. House File 2645 addresses worker’s rights. The same Republicans who went on strike want to deny exactly that type of right to Iowa’s workers.


The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) is going to be redoing Highway 1 from I-80 to Solon, including paved shoulders and some turning lanes. The IDOT will be holding an informational session on the proposed changes March 25 at Solon High School from 5-7 PM.


The United Way is holding its annual Celebration of Community event Wednesday, March 26 from 4:30-5:30 at the Levitt Center.
I am a true believer in the mission of the United Way, and I urge you to become a regular giver. Give me a call at 354-7199, and I’ll give you the pitch. You’ll be glad you did.


Intro to Planning and Zoning Workshops: Sessions are open to anyone interested in P&Z issues, including but not limited to city clerks' offices, county assessors, COGs, P&Z members, County Extension Education Directors, and many others.
I attended this in 2005 and found it very helpful. The closest site for Johnson County residents is Iowa City on April 7 at the 4-H Fairgrounds. For more information, or to download a brochure go to:
http://www.design.iastate.edu/extension/planning-workshops.php


Thanks to everyone who showed up at the St. Patty’s Day fundraising party! Your support is appreciated! Remember, you can track the campaign at www.rodsullivan.org.


DID YOU KNOW? A few County roads are now embargoed. For a complete list, see the County website at http://www.johnson-county.com/secondaryroads/pdf/roadNames.pdf.


Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:55 PM  1 Comments

March 18, 2008

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/18/08


Happy St. Patrick’s Day! March 17 is always a big day for me. In addition to celebrating my Irish heritage, St. Patrick’s Day holds a special place in my heart, because it was the birthday of my late father. Bob Sullivan passed away 9 years ago this summer.
Nobody was more proud of his Irish heritage than Dad. He lived for St. Pat’s, and the St. Patty’s Days we shared contain some very fond memories. We had some good times on March 17 over the years.
Dad was always fun to be around – maybe the most fun person I ever knew. Dad firmly believed that life was too short- in his case, it certainly was. He also believed life was meant to be enjoyed.
With that in mind, I wanted to share an old Irish blessing that reminds me of Dad: “May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.”
That was never more true than in the case of Bob Sullivan. Happy birthday, Dad. I miss you.


Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it. Easter is early this year; we do not usually have to deal with snow and ice still on the ground. But the spirit of rebirth and renewal is everywhere. After this long, hard winter, we could all use a renewal. Happy holiday!


The Board of Supervisors recently voted to place a Conservation bond referendum on the November 2008 general election ballot. The Conservation Board is requesting $20 million dollars (to be paid back over 20 years) to be spent on the protection of rivers, streams, woodlands, wetlands, prairies, and the development of trails.
If approved by 60% of the voters, the measure would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $2.20 per month. It would cost owners of agricultural ground about 21 cents/acre.
Conservation experts predict that the $20 million raised locally could be used as a match to generate between $20 and $80 million in additional investments.
The Conservation Board will identify the spending priorities, but they plan on getting public input through a series of public meetings. The Conservation Board does not have the power to condemn land; they only work with willing sellers. In addition, the Conservation Board has a policy of never paying more than the assessed value for any piece of property. This would not change regardless of the results of the bond issue.
A group has formed to push for the passage of the measure. Contributions can be made to Citizens for Our Land, Water and Future, PO Box 5125, Coralville IA 52241, landwaterfuture@gmail.com. If interested in learning more, contact Janelle Rettig at 338-0999.
I am not aware of any group having formed in opposition. If someone has that info, please send it my way and I’ll pass that along, too.


From Citizens For Tax Justice: The Boston Globe recently broke the story of how Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton, is avoiding hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Social Security and Medicare taxes by pretending its Iraq-based employees are working for a Cayman-Islands based shell company.
According to the Globe, KBR recruits people to work on reconstruction-related projects. When the workers get their first paycheck, they see that it's coming from a KBR subsidiary, Service Employers International Inc, (SEI).
SEI's corporate home is the Grand Cayman Islands. (Legally, anyway -- SEI has no actual offices in the Caymans, just a mailing address.) And while KBR employees working in Iraq would be subject to payroll taxes, SEI employees don't incur federal payroll tax liability because they're not working for a US-based company.
The Globe estimates that SEI is avoiding about $101 million in payroll taxes every year using this scam. If this has been going on throughout SEI's 5-year stint in Iraq, that's more than $500 million in revenue that won't be shoring up the Social Security system.
One glitch in this clever plan, as the Globe alertly points out, is that Medicare benefits are not reduced for those who don't contribute. So the Medicare portion of the foregone tax is money is going to have to be raised through taxes on the rest of us. And Texas-based KBR is also avoiding state unemployment taxes on these workers, which means that they'll be ineligible for unemployment benefits later on.


Speaking of tax fairness, please continue to push your legislators to support Combined Reporting! This is an issue to embrace, not fear. Every Iowan would benefit from this common sense change. It is all about fairness. In addition, Iowa needs the money it is owed by these corporations!


PEACE VIGIL: March 19, 2008, dawn to Midnight on the sidewalk on the east side of the Pentacrest. (Bring signs and candles if you can. There will be some available there.) For further info, contact Ed Flaherty @ 621-6766 or Peggy Stokes @ 338-2924.


DID YOU KNOW? Iowa six-on-six girl’s basketball legend Denise Long of Union-Whitten High School once scored 111 points in a single game. Long also scored 93 points in a State Tournament game, and averaged over 60 points per game for her career. To top it all off, Long was drafted by the NBA!


Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

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posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:24 PM  0 Comments

March 11, 2008

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/11/08


I was very disappointed to learn of the recent decision by the Press Citizen to move their printing operations to Des Moines. (This also affects the West Side Story & Little Hawk student newspapers, as well as few additional local publications.)
Unfortunately, this decision comes at a time when the reporting has been solid and the editorial page has been outstanding. Although they refuse to invest the necessary resources toward covering local governments, things were beginning to look up at the PC. Now the boss sits in Des Moines, claiming that the paper is “local”. She must think we are all very stupid.
This move cost 11 full time and 13 part time jobs. That is a big blow to the local economy. Ironically, the PC just editorialized about “spending money locally.” The whole thing is just a damned shame. The people of Johnson County deserve better.


Congratulations to Shelter House on the recent Supreme Court decision that will allow them to build a new facility in southern Iowa City.
In addition to being very important for the growing number of homeless people in Johnson County, this decision was actually very important from a precedence standpoint.
The burden of proof in this case needs to be squarely with the plaintiffs. If you can show that something will damage your property values, more power to you. But to twist that into a scenario where the defendant has to prove its application will NOT damage property values puts all defendants in a position that is essentially unwinnable. Speculation would always win out.
That said, one of my best friends was one of plaintiffs – I know he has concerns. Shelter House has been a good neighbor to people at their current north side site; I trust they will do everything they can to earn a similar reputation in their new location.


The Caucuses are over, and political scientists are busy trying to study voting behavior. While Presidential politics are interesting, I wish someone could explain local political behavior.
It has always been interesting to me how the most conservative member of a local school board or city council will caucus for the most liberal presidential candidate. Similarly inexplicable is the way a liberal member of the Legislative delegation will openly support a very conservative member of a local school board or city council. Every variation on this theme exists, but you get the idea. Johnson County voters tolerate a great deal of cognitive dissonance when it comes to local politics.
I guess the easiest way to explain it is that we live in a small community. There are familial, work, school, church, neighborhood, and other connections that often trump political ideology when it comes time to cast a vote.
One can argue that it would be nice to see more consistency and less hypocrisy when it comes time to support candidates. On the other hand, perhaps people like the fact that things other than ideology take precedence in decision-making. That leads to an obvious question, of course – if you do not vote based on beliefs, and instead vote based upon relationships… how will you vote?
The idea that an elected official is not particularly ideological sounds good, in theory. And there are some elected officials who manage to cultivate this image. But I am always skeptical of the candidate who “has no agenda.” I am convinced that we all have our agendas – it is just a matter of whether or not we are honest and public about them.
I find this phenomenon interesting. Do any readers have thoughts? If so, please share them!


Johnson County Emergency Management will be sponsoring Weather Spotter training on Saturday, March 15 at 10 AM in Building C at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. The training is free and open to the public.


On a personal campaign note: You are all invited to a St. Patrick’s Day Party! Monday, March 17 from 5-8 PM at 2326 E. Court St. in Iowa City. (Parking is available across the street.)
This party is a fundraiser for the Sullivan for Supervisor Campaign. Donations are welcome but not required. Food will be provided; please bring your own St. Patty’s Day beverages. Please call 354-7199 for more information.


DID YOU KNOW? You can sign up to receive agendas and minutes from Johnson County meetings right at your home computer! Just sign up at http://www.johnson-county.com/esub/auth/login.cfm.


Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:10 PM  0 Comments

March 4, 2008

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/4/08


Congratulations to the City High Girl’s Basketball team on a fantastic finish to a fantastic season! There have been many different types of awards and titles won by City High students over the years, but this is a first for girl’s basketball.
My daughter is on the sophomore team, and it has been fun to have the opportunity to watch this group of girls all season long. More importantly, the coaches and players have been real class acts.


There has been some recent discussion as to whether the members of the Board of Supervisors (BOS) are full-time or part-time. The BOS has historically been considered 3/4 time, but that designation came about simply as a means to allow the BOS access to health insurance.
Many folks do not realize this, but you can just stop in and see a Supervisor. You do not usually need an appointment. Unless there is a meeting, there is almost always a Supervisor (or three or four) available to take your call.
Few people seem to question the hours that Supervisors put in, which makes me feel good. I know that while my workweeks vary dramatically, I almost always put in over 40 hours per week. That said, there is some legitimate debate as to what counts as work.
Some things SHOULD be clear; for example, political events are not work; going somewhere simply to “be seen” is not work; same with being in the office but working on personal business.
Other activities are less clear. For example, should I count the time I spend discussing county issues while at the grocery store? Should I count the time I spend writing Salvos? Should I count time spent on my couch reading the proposed changes to the Land Use Plan? These are all legitimate questions without easy answers. Perhaps the answers do not matter; I feel comfortable that I am working hard whether those instances are counted as work or not. Just the same, I’d feel more comfortable knowing the ground rules.
The BOS recently held a discussion on this issue, but little was decided. Frankly, I am a bit frustrated by the current situation.
Legally, BOS members do not really need to do anything. You can get elected, rarely show up, and collect $47,500 annually for 4 years. Obviously, no one does that. But claiming that BOS members need only abide by the Code of Iowa is a cop out. The BOS runs an organization with $75 million in annual revenues. I think the public needs to be able to hold the BOS more accountable.
I do not have a strong preference as to whether the job should be 3/4 time or full time. I DO think:
1. The status and expectations should be clear;
2. Full time or part time, the pay is basically adequate in either case;
3. Public business should take precedence over second jobs.
4. A County Manager would be an unwise move away from democracy.
5. It would be nice if the papers covered local government more closely.

The Board will likely need to resurrect this discussion prior to next years’ Compensation Board meeting. I will keep you updated.


The Johnson County FY09 budget hearing will be Thursday, March 6 at 5:30 in the Boardroom. This is a chance for the public to weigh in (pro, con, or otherwise) on next year’s budget. Proposed budget info is already available on the website – www.johnson-county.com.


Tuesday, March 11th marks one of my favorite events (and a sure sign that warmer weather is ahead!) – the annual Prairie Preview in Montgomery Hall at the Johnson County Fairgrounds.
This is the 25th Annual Prairie Preview, and it will be dedicated to the memory and accomplishments of Paul Christiansen, the father of prairie restoration in Iowa.
The schedule is as follows:
6:30 PM: browse, meet prairie friends and visit the exhibits.
7:30 PM: Announcements and brief introductions.
7:35 PM: Connie Mutel – Connie will speak about her newly published book, The Emerald Horizon, A History of Nature in Iowa, and about her challenges and discoveries in writing about Iowa’s highly modified landscape.
Following the presentation: Enjoy refreshments (provided by the Four Seasons Garden Club) and check out the exhibits.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION - (319) 857-4741 or www.jcht.org.


Another of my favorite events occurs Saturday, March 8 with the annual Winter Fundraiser for the Sutliff Bridge Authority at the Solon Legion. Dance to Schmo Sounds from 8-12, with cool raffle items, a 50/50 drawing, and a live auction. A $5 donation at the door will help in maintaining the bridge.


DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County has a population density of 182 people per square mile. The State of Iowa averages 50 people per square mile. (Alaska has one person per square mile; New Jersey has almost 1200.)


Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

posted by Rod Sullivan @ 5:38 PM  0 Comments



Copyright © 2008 Rod Sullivan, Johnson County Board of Supervisors. All rights reserved.
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