Letters to the Editor for Oct. 21, 2009

City workers don’t get it

To the editor:

My first reaction to this current council dispute was bemusement. More evidence that these guys couldn’t manage a bake sale without drifting into petty bickering.

First thought: Boot them all out. But I’ve changed my mind after reading the pamphlet sent out by recall supporters. If you can get past some errors, the repetition, and a few paragraphs that make no sense at all, a good reading leaves one impression: City Hall doesn’t like the council firing one of their own. “Moral (sic) could not be lower today in our City Hall...” the literature says. Really?

Well, maybe firings should continue until morale improves. Are they sad because they don’t make enough? No. They get good stable salaries, wages and overtime while the economy is killing the rest of us. Many got big raises and free reign under the fired manager.

Is their health poor? No. They get Cadillac health insurance, sick and personal days, and more vacation than most Baker residents can dream of.

Are they poorly represented? No. In an age when the working man and woman are lost in a corporate wilderness, they get union representation to watch their backs.

Frankly, of the public employees I’ve encountered lately, I wouldn’t characterize their moods as sad. Surly, maybe. Snotty, some of them. Certainly unhelpful. But sad? Not so much. Not all, I’m sure, but some seem to have forgotten that they work for us, not the other way around.

Let’s keep the council as it is, if for nothing but the entertainment value. Instead, let’s fire a few more city employees and see how the rest feel then.

Doug Darlington

Baker City

Spend money on streets, not recall

To the editor:

Ed Walter was right, it’s about time for us residents of Baker City to take a stand and start watching how our tax dollars are being spent by wasteful elections, for example.

This recall is way out of proportion and costing taxpayers of Baker City thousands of dollars when they should be focusing on roads that have cracks a horse can’t even jump across in many residential areas of Baker. The recall money should be spent sending the street superintendent back to school to learn how to patch cracks right the first time properly so it could last longer. The residential areas should be the focus of street repairs, not just downtown Baker!

Bob Waldron

Baker City

City employees aren’t for sale

To the editor:

We are your employees of Baker City. We are your friends and neighbors. We attend the same churches; our children go to school with your children. We volunteer our time, donate our money, belong to local clubs and service organizations, and give back to this beautiful community we call home.

We are public servants. As such it is our duty — our responsibility — to not only serve but to protect the citizens for whom we work.

We are also citizens of Baker City and County. We pay taxes, we vote and we follow the laws we are beholden to enforce.

Recent implications questioning our credibility have been hurtful, demeaning and very damaging. Our loyalty and respect can be neither bought nor sold. Instead, they are earned by a shared work ethic and dedication to the fundamental belief that this community comes first. Anyone who knows and works with this staff will understand why we are deeply offended by these heartless attacks.

We are your employees, Baker City. And this is not a responsibility we take lightly.

Signed by the following

Baker City employees:

Becky Fitzpatrick

Jennifer Watkins

James Price

Gary Van Patten

Wyn Lohner

Jeanie Dexter

Gary Bood

Michelle Owen

Teresa Dyke

Eugene Stackle

Joyce Bornstedt

Donald Chance