Dark Days In Pacific Get Darker

The longer Cy Sun is in office, the darker the outlook for this city we love. Insurance carriers refuse to insure the city while he is at the helm. Key administrative positions remain vacant almost a full year after he took office, despite a court order that he hire qualified people immediately. The council must seriously consider dis-incorporation as the best alternative because Sun refuses to step down. And now annexation to Auburn on January 1st has emerged as a strong possibility.

Apathy is our biggest enemy. It is past time to take a stand and fight for this city. We must rise up in-mass if we want to remain a city. Despite the busy holiday season, we have to make time to educate our neighbors, donate to the recall and attend the council meetings. If we don't, it's looking like we won't have a Pacific address for our Christmas cards next year.

There are two important ways you can help in the next few days:

• This Sunday, Dec. 1st at Noon: Meet in front of the senior center to canvas the city. Let's make sure EVERY household knows what is happening and why. The best antidote to apathy is knowledge and our neighbors need to understand the destruction Mayor Sun has caused - and what we can do about it.
• This Monday, Dec. 3rd at 6:30pm: The council will hold their regular workshop, then hold a special meeting to discuss annexing to Auburn. If there is a large crowd (and we hope there will be), the meeting will be moved to the gym.

If you want to be heard, be sure and attend the meeting Monday. And tell your friends and neighbors - this may be our last chance....

Annex To Auburn?

KING 5 is reporting (here) about one more alternative on the table for Pacific if Mayor Sun will not resign - annex to Auburn. The issue will be considered at the council meetings Monday night for both cities, so be sure to attend if you can.

Council Meeting Report

The following email was sent today to the many readers of the Pacific City Signal News blog, run by Jeanne Fancher. It may be too late to attend the finance committee meeting tonight, but it is interesting to read about the last council meeting:
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Hi Pacific News Readers,

The Budget discussions will continue tonight at the Council's Finance Committee meeting, 6pm city hall council chambers.

Last night at Council, an Ordinance to raise property tax income by about $13,000 FAILED, 
This changes the 2013 Budget income projection. Expenses have to be adjusted downward to match. Finance Committee is the next step.

An alternate "income" Ordinance 12-183X(8?) PASSED,
This Ordinance renews the Current levy rate, "banks" the 1% allowed increase for future years (due to the 101%/year rule on increases), and keeps projected 2013 property tax income from new construction.

These "changes" will be discussed tonight at the Finance Committee Meeting.

The Hearing on the Budget was continued, to be reconvened at the First "business" Meeting of the Council on December 10th

The First Reading of the Budget Ordinance was perfunctory, considering that due to the failure of the tax ordinance, all the bottom lines for Departments are up for change
.
A Second reading, and passage of a Budget Ordinance HAS to happen before the end of the year, or the City will have no property tax income.

Those in the Audience who came for "fireworks" were mostly disappointed at first, but if they stayed long enough, were rewarded. One public comment "for Items not on the Agenda", made by Bill Broderson, that the Public Notices were no longer posted on the Doors of the City Hall and that's how many people learn of city business, was noted by the Mayor.

During the Budget Ordinance section, Former Mayor Howard Erickson made a comment about street maintenance. He wanted to know what was earmarked for repairs, He noted the cracks in many streets. He said they should be fixed, so water did not get under the pavement and cause frost heave. Mayor Sun agreed and said streets were an important issue for him.

Dropping my "reportorial silence", I pointed out, that with few to no bi-monthy Mayor and Department reports, and few department "heads" to make budget recommendations, except for Police Chief Calkins, the department budgets could not be judged to be cost effective, nor supporting City Policies (such as the Comprehensive plan, Parks plan, Transportation and Capital facilities plans) because we (Council and Public) are not getting enough information. Despite an interruption by Mayor Sun, I was able to finish my comment

The Council Adopted Resolution 12-1216, authorizing the Mayor to execute an Inter local Agreement between the State Courts Administrative Office and City Court for Interpreter services.

On the Consent Agenda, 3 checks were pulled for separate consideration. Everything else was approved.

Pulled "warrants" were:
1) a check for about $280(?) to Mr. Howard Ericson, for work as the "City building inspector", under a verbal contract with Mayor Sun. The Council asked the City Attorney several questions about the City's legal responsibility, (the Council had no "contract" from Mayor Sun, nor did the Council approve the "hire" of Mr Erickson, as is required by City Municipal Code). Mr. Luce said the Council was under no obligation to pay Mr Erickson, The Council was advised that paying Mr Erickson could leave the City legally vulnerable because he was not a certified inspector. (FYI: we learned after the Meeting that Sound Inspections did re-inspect each of Mr Erickson's "sign-offs, and that Pacific's Building Inspector is required to be "certified" by the International Code Council.
www.iccsafe.org/Accreditation/Pages/default.aspx

During Public Comment on this Check, Mr Erickson spoke to the "emergency" (B.I. Roger Smith out on sick leave, on-loan B.I. Kelly Tally also took sick-leave) in building inspections, and justified his hire as keeping the building permit money flowing---

I pointed out that Building Inspectors are certified by an international council on building codes, and that as Mr Erickson had no certifications, he was not qualified to make inspections. I suggested that as Mayor Sun hired hin without authorization, he pay Mr Erickson out of his own pocket.
This Check (approval) FAILED.

2) A check to attorney(s) for Indigent Representation (Pacific-Algona Municipal Court) was approved, as the City is required to provide legal representation for those who cannot afford it.

3) A check for a Bill from the WA St Department of Retirement Services, for "retirement" that should have been collected during the entire eligible period of Pam Nelson's employment as Finance Director, going back to 2006, was questioned. Ms Garrison said this bill was run by the City Attorney to see if there was any way the City was not liable. Answer: No. Why? Answer: The City had revised the Personal Services Contract with Ms. Nelson (Temporary Finance Director). The revision made her a hired employee. Retirement was not deducted from her pay. Nor had the City paid it's half share. Ms.Nelson learned it should have been deducted, and matched, when she recently got a job with a municipality, and she informed Retirement Services, which sent the City a bill for the whole amount (over $20,000). Employers are require to submit both the employee's and the employer's contribution (which the City would have withheld). City did not, now it has to pay.
Council APPROVED the Check for payment
The City Attorney will, with Council approval, start proceedings to recoup Ms Nelson's share (half the bill).;

There was no Executive Session.
The Council Meeting was adjourned.


The above "report" is from memory. Don't trust mine.
I will be posting the videos to You Tube. I'll let you know when the first one is online----

I Hope some of you can make the Finance Committee tonight at 6PM.
It should be an informative meeting, as this will be the first opportunity to iron out the differences between the projected expenses and new income. Clint Steiger is the Chair. The Committee is NOT required to take Public Comment.

Best regards,
Jeanne

Come One, Come All - This Sunday

We will be meeting in the parking lot of the Senior Center at noon this Sunday to go door to door with information. If you can devote some time, please notify us via email at recallcy@gmail.com. It is imperative that we get information into the hands of the citizens. Cy Sun is trying to take this city down and we will not let that happen.

More Shenanigans By Mayor Sun

Last Friday, Mayor Sun was in Pierce County Superior Court once again - this time trying to get Judge Johnson to reconsider his request that city attorney Ken Luce be disqualified and removed as the city attorney. Numerous motions were filed (available here and here and here and here and here and here) and the judge was forced to waste the court's time to rexamine an issue that had already been carefully considered - not to mention the city time required to reply to these additional arguments.

The judge pointed out very emphatically that he had considered Mayor Sun's arguments carefully the first time and none of the new information presented contained anything that would change his mind. Judge Johnson denied Mayor Sun's motion and told him the city had better things to be doing with its time than arguing this issue. It is unclear if the city has to pay Sun's attorneys for this most recent court action, although it is presumed that Pacific has to pay for the attorney time required to respond to these new arguments. Meanwhile, vital city administrative positions remain empty and the city likely looses its insurance in a few short weeks.

Pacific No More?

UPDATE: Friday, November 16, 2012 @ 9:16pm:

The motion to bring the city to its end is now available via this link here. Read it, then join us as we try to save our city by recalling Mayor Cy Sun from office.
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Dissolving the City of Pacific is officially on the table. The city council approved a resolution tonight that sets a February vote on the ballot to dis-incorporate the city. If things continue on the current path and the city looses insurance coverage at the end of the year, city leaders believe it will be the only option left.  Other alternatives are being explored, such as being absorbed into an adjacent city or finding other insurance coverage. The News Tribune has more details in their article here...

Mayor Cy Sun  has set Pacific on a disaster course. His attempts to correct the mess he has created are too little, too late. He needs to leave office now if there is any hope of saving our city. Please consider  helping our recall efforts. Email us at recallcy@gmail.com to volunteer.

Cross-Appeal Filed

After Pacific Mayor Cy Sun appealed the recall petition, the committee has filed an appeal of their own in court today - asking the Washington State Supreme Court to reinstate the dismissal of some of the charges against Sun and urging an expedited review. The paperwork filed today is available via this link here...

The committee had no choice but to pursue this arduous and very costly alternative after Mayor Sun appealed, despite his numerous statements that he would welcome a vote by the citizens of Pacific. Both appeals are made directly to the state's highest court and involve many more hours of costly attorney time, preparation and arguments. The recall committee has retained the law firm of Oldfield & Helsdson, who successfully shepherded the recall of Pierce County Assessor Dale Washam. The recall process is complex, cumbersome and challenging - and almost impossible to negotiate without expert help. The committee must now raise another $15,000 to complete this step in the process.

It is unclear how Mayor Sun is paying for his legal team. Under state law, he must follow the same fund raising rules as the recall committee. His lawyers cannot charge the City of Pacific for any work they do on the recall campaign, although it is unclear if anyone from the City is allowed to review their invoices. Donations are limited to $900 per person and must be documented with the donor's name, address and employer filed with the Public Disclosure Commission. The recall campaign has been carefully following these rules, despite how limiting they have been. Meanwhile, Sun supporters are listing his attorney's names on local news web sites encouraging anonymous donations of any amount. It has not been an even playing field to date.

It is time for all the citizens of Pacific to step up to the plate and get involved. If every voter in Pacific donated just $6, we could cover this additional cost needed to fight Sun's appeal and get this issue out for a vote. We have to be willing to put our name on the line and take a stand to save our city. All this effort is to allow a vote on the recall, not kick Mayor Sun out of office. That decision will be made by the voters. Please help us give the citizens of Pacific that choice.

Donations can now be made at the Columbia Bank at 41st and A Streets, but please fill out the disclosure form when you make your donation. Thank you for your help and support in this important effort. It is vital that we allow Pacific residents the chance to vote as soon as possible.

Hail Mary Pass Thrown

In what some have dubbed a 'Hail Mary Pass", the Pacific City Council met briefly last night to pass the resolution below.The city is requesting help finding and funding insurance from anyone they can think to ask. Council President Leanne Guier was even authorized to send this request to anyone else she finds that may be able to help.

We need to remember the sole reason we are faced with this crisis is because of the actions of Mayor Cy Sun. He may be sincere, but he is unwilling to learn how to effectively govern. We deeply respect his service to our country as a war veteran, but Pacific is not a battlefield filled with enemies to kill. We are people who want to live in peace and raise our children in security.

Even though the council has agreed to fill three of the seven critical vacancies finally brought forward by the mayor, the crisis is far from over. The mayor has created a harsh,unstable working environment. It is challenging to attract any qualified applicants right now, or for Mayor Sun to agree to hire qualified people. We are nowhere close to ensuring we have satisfied the insurance company and the city will have coverage on January 1, 2013.

In the midst of the crisis, Cy Sun has chosen to spend precious time and energy to fight the recall petition and delay a vote - despite stating he would welcome the voter's decision. His decision to fight the recall rather than focus on governing this city speaks volumes about his true motives. Remember why we are in this crisis and who is responsible. And then help us restore sanity to this city while there is still time. Email us a recallcy@gmail.com if you want to help.