North Bend Officials Practicing Cronyism and Corruption to the Detriment of City Residents
Corruption & Nepotism in NB - What else is new?
Letter to the editor by James W. Rose
Attached is a copy of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) complaint I filed against Stephanie Wilson this week – the newly hired “Main Street Manager” for the City of North Bend… I wish I could file a complaint against the city as well, as they are all completely aware of this ethics violation and apparently just don’t care.
The complaint filed against Stephanie Wilson:
(1) North Bend Main Street | Facebook
As usual, the complaint to OGEC is only the tip of the iceberg… Did you know that Stephanie Wilson was actually NOT the most qualified candidate for the position per a source at the CB office of OR Employment Department?
She is now a city employee receiving a taxpayer-funded salary and benefits in the neighborhood of $85K per year and remains the sole owner of a clothing boutique with a direct financial conflict of interest when any taxpayer funds are spent to promote NB’s so-called Main Street. In the recent Sip & Stroll taxpayer dollars were spent to promote 22 NB businesses including her own business… that’s a problem they all know about… are they hoping nobody will say anything? They are breaking the law every single time she says anything without first making a public disclosure of her business ownership… in most expenditure discussions and recommendations she will need to recuse herself completely due to the actual or potential personal financial benefit she may/might receive as a consequence of her recommendations… as an employee business owner in this position everything she does is a conflict of interest and is tainted…unless and until she closes or sells her business.
Unfortunately, as an “employee” of the city and a business owner, Ms. Wilson is virtually useless in this position if they abide by the OR ethics laws and just common sense.
Now for the rest of the story…sadly, there were three other qualified candidates for the Main Street Manager position who met or exceeded the job requirements provided to the city by the OR Employment Dept. and they didn’t even bother to call or interview any of them.
Why is that you ask?
You might want to direct that to Mayor Engelke because it was well known at OR Employment Dept. that the hire – Ms, Wilson - was known to be the Mayor’s BFF and the city was never going to hire any of the candidates the state vetted and presented to the city. As a consequence of this hiring debacle, it has been recommended to OR Employment Dept. senior officials that the city of NB will not be afforded “staff assisted” placement services for 5 years. The Mayor and Mr. Milliron share the blame for the whole mess and the taxpayers of NB will pay the consequences of potentially missing out on future highly qualified job candidates as well as footing the bill for future private party recruitment services.
Haven’t seen that one in The World.
There is another potential complaint coming to BOLI from me on behalf of NB citizens concerning the shady – if not illegal – hiring process for this position… if it already hasn’t been done by OR Employment. The three scorned qualified candidates probably don’t even know they got screwed by the city as a consequence of this unfair hiring process… it was rigged and the whole thing is the epitome of political corruption.
If these three candidates do find out what happened, they may have a great case for a lawsuit against the city – another liability for taxpayers when and if that shoe ever drops. There is nobody else to blame for that except the Mayor and her City Administrator. I am putting in a FOIA request to OR Employment for all correspondence related to the hiring issue. I’m sure the candidate names will be redacted but OR Employment Dept. has no dog in the fight and likely will give up the information.
In another piece of irony, the North Bend Police Department’s Union endorsed Jessica Engelke for Mayor last week. Yet she voted for and oversees a budget that cut the overall 2022-2023 public safety expenditure in the City of North Bend by approximately $77k, so she now becomes the first Mayor in over 15 years to admittedly “de-fund” public safety… and yet the NBPD cops still supported her. Voters should be asking themselves why she voted to support a budget that de-funded public safety exactly at the time when NB citizens feel less safe than they ever have in their own homes, streets and businesses…
“The proposed FY23 budget reduces the public safety budget while increasing services to the public. The budget to take effect July 1st includes two critical positions: a Community Resource Officer (CRO) and Community Services Officer (CSO). The CRO will seek out and engage those who are chronically homeless and, for those who are willing, attempt to provide and connect them with housing and appropriate resources for that individual. The CSO will increase the department’s service level by freeing up patrol officers for other duties, such as providing customer service to citizens, enforcing specific city codes, providing patrol and community outreach, and responding to noncriminal complaints. Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and other budget dollars will fund the positions. At the same time, staff will seek additional federal grant resources.” (taken from City of NB web site)
Ethics has never exactly been the “hallmark” of this mayor or as a past councilor and the NBPD cops can endorse whomever they want to on their own time. I would like to know how you reduce the public safety budget and then make the claim that you have “increased services to the public.” That is a magic trick government needs to know. But yes they’re still collecting our $15 monthly Public Safety Tax… aka a “fee”… and they also know that the Mayor’s “Community Service Officer” – who is not a gun carrying “sworn officer”… is funded through short-term “ARPA” (2021 American Rescue Program Act) funds aka the $1.9Billion of one-time “stimulus” money provided by President Biden and his Democratic Senate & House of Representatives… the money to fund this position runs out in 2 years… so you have got to wonder what they have promised the guy who took the job knowing he’s probably “toast” in 2 years… clearly they weren’t going to hire Sherlock Holmes since no “sworn” police officer with real police powers would be looking to be hired for the job… another outright deception perpetrated on NB citizen/voters… at the end of 2 years we will surely be presented with the “threat” of “give us more money or we will have to “cut” the Community Resource Officer”… here’s how that will go…”he has done so much for our city… without him we can’t go after the illegally parked RV’s and the homeless encampments – do you really want that back… blah blah blah”… it’s a pre-planned extortion on NB taxpayers… the hire is an un-funded time bomb just waiting to go off on June 30, 2024… but in the meantime the Mayor is going to use it as propaganda to illustrate how “in touch” she is with the masses.
Hopefully, across the kitchen table, voters are asking if they are better off now than they were 2 years ago. In my mind, the answer is a resounding no…I know that we are asking what’s different now than 2 years ago and why the situation has gotten this bad this quickly.
Hopefully, that carries over to Jessica Engelke’s defeat at the ballot box in November… if not the people have spoken again and the Mayor and her City Administrator can carry on with their calculated deception, misdirection, bullying, and outright lies with very few people questioning anything no matter how unethical their actions are.
Speaking of bullying and threats… add to the mix the NB City Administrator Milliron’s recent “Game of Thrones” moments with the Airport District and you have a real “Shit Show” going on inside city hall now. The absolute gall of an unelected city employee to threaten another elected body to the detriment of an entire region for his own political gain is a complete and total abomination… and the fact that elected NB City Council members – including the sitting Mayor are completely aware of it and allowing it may be even worse.
Simply put they are apparently all OK with Milliron telling the Airport Board essentially give me control of the Senior Center and the Airport Heights playground/ball fields and a seat at your table or I’ll take my cops away from you and we may or may not respond to your airport calls for service … never mind that federal law requires NBPD to respond to the airport… all the while knowing that if NBPD response time is cut - it likely means the end of commercial air service to the south coast.
Milliron’s letter about the lease of the North Bend Senior Center:
The absolute HUBRIS of his letter that was CC’d to all of the City Council is just astounding. The fact that he continues to be employed by the City Council is even more astounding. The taxpayers of Coos County “own” the airport and its associated properties – NOT Milliron and not the City of North Bend… they already gave that up because they couldn’t afford it and it is an essential regional asset… the voters already spoke to that when we voted to create the Coos County Airport District years ago…. if commercial air service goes - so goes the entire economy of the region… thankfully there are sensible powers over Milliron and the city that ultimately control the destiny of the Coos County airport… but it will likely take a good spanking by a Governor or Senator or Bandon Dunes if this ridiculous threat is carried out. If this isn’t grounds to fire someone – I don’t know what is… in this case the voters will get to decide whether to fire Jessica for allowing any of it… by allowing Milliron to do her “dirty work” she is certainly tacitly - if not openly approving of his actions. I’ve attached a copy of the letters back and forth.
The $64,000 question is why?
Why does Milliron want the property?
The answer likely lies with a homeless RV parking map he promulgated that conveniently marked out street parking for RVs on the airport-controlled property without even so much as a phone call to the Airport Director. I doubt he lost her phone number or email address. The supposition is that Milliron and the Mayor want the property in order to use the land for a taxpayer-funded RV parking lot for homeless RV’ers, which will not stand with the adjacent residential neighbors and will only get them in more hot water with voters if that course of action is chosen. The Airport Board representatives see this as the only motive for the hornet's nest they are poking at the moment.
There is a second “side story” in this Milliron “Game of Thrones” saga involving TSA and one of their local agents. The TSA is required to annually test the required 15-minute response time of NBPD for a call for service at the airport. The 15-minute response is a requirement of the TSA and a condition of TSA services being provided at the Coos County Airport. The airport staff and the TSA rep both met with the Police Chief and his Captain and explained the no-notice test requirements and they were both fully aware of how everything was supposed to go beforehand. The TSA officer makes the 911 call - the NBPD cop responds as required.
Subsequently, Milliron writes a letter to TSA charging the officer with making a “false police report” even though the Chief and Captain Mitts were fully engaged in the test. As required by TSA, the airport Executive Director had to suspend the officer pending TSA investigation. The TSA then has to write a letter to the city telling them that it isn’t a false report because the guy was only doing his job as required by federal law and oh by the way – your police department officials were fully aware of and briefed on the circumstances.
Internal memo on Action Against TSA Employee:
Thankfully, the TSA officer was only temporarily suspended with pay. In fact, Milliron pompously went for his badge and tried to embarrass the Airport Board and Director. Fortunately, it all backfired in his face. Unfortunately, the whole unseemly affair never made it to the media.
Related story: What the hell is going on in North Bend? – The Daily Resister
Updated: North Bend Councilor Dr. Eric Gleason Refutes Rumors of Living Outside the City Limits — Rob Taylor Report
Lastly… another ongoing deception perpetrated on NB voters at the moment involves Councilor Eric Gleason… He and his wife sold their house on Vista Drive earlier this summer and their new house in Winston is now his primary residence – although he apparently continues to claim that his parent’s house at 2958 Sheridan is his address of record.
The problem is his wife and kids are living in Winston and his center of activity is not North Bend… he should NOT be eligible to remain a City Council member and represent the very citizens he no longer resides with… sure he may still be here during the week living at his parent’s house because he doesn’t want to commute 70 miles twice a day… however he technically is not a resident of this city and should not be eligible to hold onto his office.
Rumor had it that he was “quitting” the Council and the School Board but there he is… a full court press is going to be mounted to have voters start questioning why he is allowed to sit there at the meetings and vote while a bona-fide resident of the city doesn’t get the chance. There is something else going on there potentially and it is past time for the rest of this story to be made public… whether he or Jessica Engelke likes it or not…
If Gleason’s resignation comes after the election – there is a good chance that Timm Slater gets appointed to his seat and continues on the Council for 4 years as an “un-elected” Council member… that has to be completely unprecedented and points to a HUGE hole in the city’s charter if that is allowed to stand. If something is done before the election – then the council needs to take in volunteers and the ENTIRE council should decide who is going to take over the remainder of Gleason’s term of office… in any case, he should resign immediately before this becomes a political nightmare for JE.
There isn’t a radio show long enough to talk about the entire problem with NB at the moment, but it can be summed up in one photo...see attached... the real "truth" is that elected positions in the City of North Bend are listed as "Non-Partisan"... it is in reality exactly the opposite and politics could not possibly be more partisan. This is a city of very divided people... because of that nothing gets done and the things that do get done get jammed on whoever isn't a "51% percenter"... worse yet the people in the 51% club don't care to listen or hear from the other 49% who might have a different opinion or even an idea of how better to approach an issue... instead, it's the partisan's go to ploy - "our way or the highway" and they even go so far as to try to impede or even cut-off the free speech right of anyone who dares to question them (read: Mayor Engelke & Councilor Garboden)... or in Councilor Bill Richardson's famous lingo... "if you don't like it here... you are free to leave."
Instead of voting for a person who can come up with a reasonable compromise - voters keep electing their partisans. Until that stops - NB is a "city on the move" all right (per Mayor Engelke) - stuck full-speed in reverse. This election offers a glimmer of hope if John Briggs is re-elected as Mayor and everyone else on the ballot - except Garboden - gets on the council... and even that's a definite maybe… for sure all the incumbents have failed this city in every way possible.
My advice in the meantime to every NB resident - buy a house somewhere else and enjoy a more "enlightened" place to live in OR... problem is they also have to deal with legalized drugs, legalized lawless tent kingdoms and no bail for even people set free with 3 attempted murder charges...they also are short of DA's to prosecute, Public Defenders to defend the accused and jail space to house all the convicted offenders not to mention mental health facilities for all of the criminal whack jobs... that is not the case in Texas, Arizona, Virginia, Florida or any other "sane" state in our union... Oregon and the City of NB have completely "lost it" in my humble opinion... every city and town in Oregon is likely to be "Portlandized" at the rate they're going... this sadly is like watching the Titanic go down and we all have a front row deck chair... when what you are doing hasn't worked and you just keep on doing it over and over again... that is absolutely crazy... the neon sign at the NB bridge needs to be changed to "Welcome to Crazy Town"... that will get the tourists to make a "must-see" stop in NB for a little "ice skating" in the middle of a windy wet rainy December afternoon on our new taxpayer-funded open-air artificial ice rink... then maybe they can go warm themselves in the shiny expensive new "visitor's center" or they can then check out - with their kids - the half-naked homeless guy sitting next to his shopping cart doing fentanyl across from Taco Bell. We are all so used to "it" now - we have sadly all gone deaf, dumb, and blind.
How's that for a Letter to the Editor... cynical as it may be... it has way too much truth in it...
James W. Rose
North Bend, Oregon