Judges Violate Nonjudicial Day Law, What Gives Here?

Below is Section 1-1607 of the Idaho Code for your review.

Election day is a "nonjudicial day" in the Great State of Idaho. THE GUARDIAN found the below law when checking to see what can and can't be done in Idaho on Election Day. Seems that some Judges are not following this law upon checking public court records.

"1-1607. NONJUDICIAL DAYS. No court can be opened nor can any judicial
business be transacted on any day enumerated in section 73-108, Idaho Code, or
on every day appointed by the President of the United States, or by the
governor of this state, for a public fast, thanksgiving, or holiday, or on a
day on which the general election is held, except for the following purposes:
1. To give, upon their request, instructions to a jury when deliberating
on their verdict.
2. To receive a verdict or discharge a jury.
3. For the exercise of the powers of a magistrate in a criminal action or
in a proceeding of a criminal nature: provided, that in civil causes orders of
arrest may be made and executed; writs of attachment, executions, injunctions
and writs of prohibition may be issued and served; proceedings to recover
possession of personal property may be had; and suits for the purpose of obtaining any such writs and proceeding may be instituted on any day."

One would have to wonder why the Judges would choose to hold court on a "FREE DAY" prescribed by law. The case number is CV-2008-0001242-C in Canyon County. Other counties have court scheduled as well. What is next, kegs outside of polling places?

Upside of Job Service Building Purchase

Can a frog be turned into a Prince?

The Job Service Building purchase for $1.25 MM and $470k in renovation costs have some up sides.

The move from Midtowne Plaza is certainly a safer location for ingress and egress of cars and trucks onto the boulevard. It is controlled by a signalized intersection.

The real upside the purchase will be the conversion of third floor offices in the courthouse to new courtrooms. More courtrooms will increase the efficiency of the legal process and may actually reduce the headcount and average length of stay in our county jail facilities. How you ask? People who can't post bond are held in jail until their trial comes up before the court. In general people wo can't post bond end up serving way more jail time for their transgressions than people who bond out.

Moving current offices in the courthouse is likely a short term fix on what is really needed. A capital improvement bond to cover expansion of the courthouse complex and serve the public needs in one location. Another option would be to gear up for more county stuff to be done via the Internet. You can do a fair amount of business over the Internet right now with car licenses and a few other functions but more needs to be added.

Ten years or so down the road we will likely face a decision to consolidate county functions back in one central location.

City Manager Government In Treasure Valley

THE GUARDIAN attended his usual service club lunch this week. The program about City Manager Government was presented by former Caldwell Community Development Director, Steven Hasson.

None of us ever expect Treasure Valley to look like the photo in this article but pay attention. The demographic people who make a living projecting growth statistics expect this valley to increase in population to the tune of 9 new Nampa's over the next 25 years! We will have 1 million people living here, like it or not. The question begging to be answered is: Are you satisfied with how this last cycle of growth has been managed by our elected city and county Politicos? If your answer is yes, you need not read any further.

All that is required to hold the office of Mayor, City Councilor, or County Commissioner in the state of Idaho is to be at least 18 years of age, be a register voter, and get yourself elected. Pretty slim set of credentials if you ask me. No experience in business, finance, management, or most important, RISK MANAGEMENT are required to get elected. City Managers are professionally trained and educated people that bring a strong professional background and resume to the job of City Manager. Most will have a Master's Degree and 15-20 years of experience with them to the job of City Manager.

Think about this for a moment. If you were looking to hire a CEO of a $50-100 million dollar corporation would you hold an election or would you do a talent search and hire the best possible person you could to manage that corporation. We go through that process for most of the appointed department heads in city government but not always is that the case. Cronyism and nepotism can play a role in certain circumstances. We don't always seek to get the best qualified people, make no mistake about it.

City Managers bring expertise to the three inherent areas of weakness with Mayor-Council forms of government. These weak areas are Growth Management, inherent weak management skills in a Mayor-Council form of government, and diminished administrative ability of Mayors to directly oversee city municipal operations ("face time with subordinates").

Mayor Nancolas in Caldwell serves on about 35 different boards and committees. He is gone from his office and out of town more than he is actively managing the day to day operations of Caldwell. Most of the time he is gone about half of the calendar days in any given month. I am sure the same can be said of other mayors in larger cities in this valley.

A City Manager is a full time city administrator. It is time to start thinking about what lies next for cities in this valley. Growth management and getting it to pay for itself has been a dismal failure of the current Mayor-Council government models in this valley. Risk management (reads litigation) will become a serious threat to all citizen tax dollars.

Caldwell is currently facing a huge legal liability with the lawsuit filed by Pioneer Irrigation District. Check out the PID website and your latest PID billings. Both sides are girding for a long expensive legal battle over city surface water drainage into irrigation ditches and canals. The legal costs for this battle could mount to several million dollars and years of litigation before it gets resolved.

Fifty-three percent of cities over 5,000 people have a city manger form of government. That amounts to 76 million people having made the move to professional management of their cities.

What's next for Caldwell when "Team Garret" leaves office? Will we get a repeat of the 1980's or will we adopt the recommendations in the RUDAT Study and make the change to City Manager Govt. It was on the ballot in the early 1990's and supported by our current Mayor and four other Mayors but failed by 16 votes.

Think what our cities and towns will look like 50-75 years down the road if growth continues to be mismanaged. I have a Pdf of the handout from the presentation for anyone interested. Send your request to me at paul.alld@gmail.com. Don't use the comments section to do your request as I do not get your email address when you post a comment.

Cast Your Ballot At The Kitchen Table This Election

This is a bit of a re-run, but it serves as a good reminder to use an absentee ballot if you are a registered voter. Both Ada and Canyon Counties have switched to the new system and clerks fear a traffic jam at the polls November 4.

Hanging chads are a thing of the past for Ada County and Canyon voters–those familiar punch card ballots are being replaced by simple “legal size” paper 8.5 x 14 inch ballots.

These will be filled in with a black fine point felt pen and read with an optical scanner–like those old SAT and college tests we all remember where a “#2 lead pencil was essential.

The new system offers a “paper trail” and seems to be more tamper proof than various computer methods. It will, however, take you much longer to case your vote this time around at the polling places. Long lines are expected if you don't choose to vote early via absentee ballot.

The punch card and stylus system is no longer used because there was only one guy in the country who knew how to fix the reader machines–the guy who invented it.

The paper ballots with blank oval boxes to be filled in are as simple as the new “booths” which are a cleverly designed pasteboard box which pops into an instant polling position.
The box booths will probably last only for an election cycle or two, but they only cost $3 and don’t require any assembly or electricity.

In addition to the Obama-McCain presidential race, it is a long ballot with county commishes and state legislative candidates.

Both county’s election officials are urging folks to “vote early” (but not often) to help with the expected delays caused by the new system and the lengthy ballot. Questions are being taken at 208-287-6860 in Ada and 208-454-7562 in Canyon County.

Ask for an absentee ballot application or you can go to the elections office at the Canyon County Courthouse Elections and Passports Office at 11th Avenue and Chicago Street in Caldwell. You can also fax your request for an absentee ballot in Canyon County at 208- 454-6899. You will receive your ballot and return it via snail mail or taking it directly to the elections office at 1103 E. Chicago St.

Commishes Finalize Job Service Building Purchase

The Board of Canyon County Commissioners signed an agreement Sept. 24, to purchase the Department of Labor Building on Graye Lane in Caldwell from the Idaho Department of Lands for $1.25 million, with closing on the property tentatively scheduled to take place in early October.

According to the agreement, if the Department of Labor staff is still using the building at the time of closing, the department will pay the county to lease the building until it is able to move to its new facility in the Sky Ranch development.

Once the county takes possession of the building, the county Building and Maintenance staff will begin remodeling it to house a new Driver’s License and License Plate office, as well as other offices which may be housed there in the future.

A few years from now we will be getting a pitch from our Commishes to "unify" all county operations under one roof. This is a band aid purchase to facilitate conversion of third floor offices in the courthouse to courtrooms.

Where Is the Point of No Return On Canyon Jail Project

It was "SUMMARY JUDGEMENT DAY" today and the Canyon County Commishes found themselves in front of Justice Linda Copple-Trout and they lost their bid for a dismissal of a citizen initiated law suit over jail expenses out on Highway 20/26. The Judge also did not allow an injunction to stop any further expenses. THE GUARDIAN sat through most of the testimony presented by County Chief Civil Deputy Chuck Saari and the Citizen's attorney Richard Harris.

The short version is the Commishes have just about reached the "point of no return" on this jail deal. The Judge frequently cited Article 8 section 3 as she probed both sides in this case. At some yet to be defined point in time, expenses will create a legally defianable tax liability for taxpayers going beyond one budget cycle The Commishes will have finally violated Article 8 section 3 of the Idaho Constitution.

Expenses so far are about $1.5 million for engineering costs and about $2 million for land purchases on the jail project. Commishes admitted to having $2 million more in the 2009 fiscal year budget for water and sewer lines to the property but have not yet let the contracts for the work. The water and sewer improvements may constitute the point of no return and cross that line the judge is looking to determine. This adds up to around $5.5 million and we still won't have a jail facility or any voter approvals.

The Judge is waiting for more information from Mr. Harris gleaned from depositions of Commishes and other elected and appointed officials taken earlier this week. The legal process grinds forward in this case. It remains to be seen if the Commishes realize where they are headed with the Judge if they continue to push their luck.

What really needs to happen is for the Commishes to put a CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BOND ELECTION up for voter approval. They have the third floor of the courthouse hallways loaded and cluttered with church pews that will go in courtrooms to be built when the Assessor, Platt Room and Development Services offices are vacated from the courthouse.

It has not yet come out in the media but the Commishes will close on the Job Service building purchsse on October 3, 2008. Price to be paid is $1.3 million to the State Lands Board. They will then have to front the costs of the moves of licensing offices, assessor and development serives out to the new site along with the conversion costs of those old offices to new courtrooms on the third floor of the courthouse. This move could run into several millions for the conversions and remodel jobs.

The judge gave them some breathing room but not much in court today.

Left Side of Road Safer for Bicycles

Now that the weather has cooled down and heat from the roads has abated THE GUARDIAN has taken note of more and more people out and about on bicycles. It is time to take a serious look at the practice of riding bicycles on the right side of the road. Bicyclists have no chance in the event of a collision with cars, trucks and buses.

I use my bicycle to roll around town on errands to pay bills, banking and just for the fun and exercise it allows for my aging joints and muscles. I have had what I perceive to be no less than three near misses in the last few days with cars passing me when I am on narrow streets with two way traffic. Vehciles are on top of you before you have a chance to react to a life threatening situation.

It hit my brain that pedestrians are encouraged to walk on the left side of the road. Why not the same encouragements and permissions for bicycles to be on the left side of the road as well? I have moved over to the left side of the road and guess what? No more near misses with cars and trucks! It is amazing what eye contact does to eliminate poor judgement on the parts of drivers unwilling to cede right of way to bicycles.

Left side riding permits you to see any vehicle danger headed your way and permit some last second evasive action to divert a disaster. Cars and trucks never will come out second best in a vehicle/bicycle accident. It is time to start making some noise about this with the Politicos.

Are Reverse Mortgages Predatory Lending

Children with aging parents are facing some very difficult choices. Parents may not fully understand the consequences of poor end of life decisions. The worst of which is what to do when the only assets left are the home parents have lived in forever and income sources based on retirements and social security started many years ago and have not kept up with inflation and living costs.

Up to rescue us all comes the banking industry with their latest scam to relieve the elderly of their last remaining asset of any value. They will advance a line of credit based on the age of the youngest title holder of the home and it will be about 40-60% of the current market valuation of the property. Front end loading costs will be $20-$25,000.00 to satisfy all the HUD, title insurance, mortgage default insurance and commissions that come off the top. Parents can expect a montly revenue stream of $1-2K/month depending on the asset or they can blow the entire line of credit on that trip to Europe before they die. The homeowners must continue to pay property taxes, insurance, homeowner association dues and upkeep/maintenance costs or face foreclosure.

The ugly side of this deal is once folks who take out these loans and can no longer live in their homes, the note is due and payable immediately. A reasonable amount of time is given to liquidate the property by the bank. The bank will get their money plus all interest that has accrued on the line of credit. Interest rates are not fixed, they are variable and reset regularly mostly up and not down.

What happens if the people taking out the loan squander the line of credit or become incompetent to manage their affairs or income sources evaporate upon the death of a spouse. More than likely the surviving spouse will no longer be able to meet the financial obligations of property taxes, insurance, homeowner association fees and upkeep on the home. Again, it will be move out time and the house sold at the pleasure of the bank.

What happens when both the husband and wife end up in assisted living or skilled nursing environment due deteriorating health or other unforseen condition? The house is sold immediately out from under them and the bank gets their money. Any residual goes to the property owners once the place is sold and expenses rekated to satisfying the reverse mortgage and sale commissions and expenses are paid.

Best advise, sell the house and rent it back from the buyer or move to another home you like as a rented property. You will get full market value for the asset and you or your estate trustee can manage the net profits to pay your expenses. Cash and dividends generated from the sale of the property will go a lot farther toward a dignified exit from this life than possible with a reverse mortgage. Should either the husband or wife need to be moved to an assisted living or skilled nursing environment the cash is there to pay for this expense.

A reverse mortgage is just another financial instrument with a "funky smell" that preys on the elderly in the name of "providing them with easy access to money". Their big sell is the heirs are only interested in cleaning out the estate and they may as well do it themselves and go out in a blaze of fun and glorious excess before they die. No mention of conserving cash assets is mentioned. Life is for the living and "you" deserve to spend this money and your future be damned.

The real challenge for all of us is to figure out how to make certain that our money will outlive us and not the other way around. A reverse mortgage does not insure this will happen.

Elderly people in deteriorating health circumstances owe it to themselves to visit assisted living providers properties and weigh what they have to offer. A good number offer graduated care options starting with independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing all in the same environment. They are not death camps!

Final word, death is not optional so plan for your exit.

$30,000 Worth of Tables Purloined From Jail Site

It has been reported to THE GUARDIAN that $30,000.00 worth of steel tables have been stolen from the new jail construction site on Highway 20/26. The tables were designed and built to go in the living units of the new jail. Solid steel and powder coated from reports supplied to me,the steel tables were stored in a vacant building on the property.

The County Deciders and the Sheriff have a APB out on the tables but apparently have not filed a police report on the theft of county property. All the Politicos are keeping mum on this deal hoping against hope they will turn up before this story gets out to the public.

It is just one more example of getting out ahead of voter approvals on this jail project. The tables in question were built with maintenance department help and stored in a vacant building at the new jail site. This much steel in one location that was unattended proved to be an easy target for the thieves. It is assumed that they were stolen and cut up for scrap. All $30,000.00 worth is now probably on its way to make new steel consumer goodies for those of us who have any money left to spend after this past week on Wall Street.

It will be interesting to see if the local media pick up on this fiasco and make the effort to put some Elected Deciders up for public comment on this blunder. $30K of our tax dollars and probably additional serious money for the labor and materials to fabricate these tables is now a bad memory that nobody at 1115 Albany wants to talk about.

Editor note: Sheriff Smith clarified at a recent meeting the tables were stolen and the value is correct but they were in prefab form and not yet completed. They have a suspect and are building a case against this individual.

Team Tom Is Looking to Privatize EMT/Ambulance Service In the Great State of Nampa

The relationship with Canyon County Paramedics and the city of Nampa has been less than cordial over the past few years. It is about to become a legal battle paid for by all Canyon County taxpayers. EMSS is the new legislation package that will go to the Idaho Legislature. (EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SYSTEM)

THE GUARDIAN has learned that Team Tom and Fire Fighters of Nampa are looking at Rural Metro Corporation out of Scottsdale, Arizona to provide ambulance service for the city of Nampa.

Research on Rural Metro reveals that they come in as a private entity and kickback money to the cities where they operate. (City of San Francisco gets $400K/year kicked back.) Team Tom and the Fire Crew have been at odds over the years with Canyon County Paramedics and it appears to be heading toward an all out battle at taxpayer expense when they finally make the move to withdraw from Canyon County Paramedic Services.

The plan as reported to THE GUARDIAN has the fair city of Nampa withdrawing from the County Program in much the same fashion they did with the Animal Control War. A move that may not have been a good financial choice given the capitalization costs, new payroll and benefit costs, vehicles, insurance, etc. now borne by the taxpayers of Nampa.

The Canyon County Paramedic program got started back in the mid-1970's. Ambulance service in the early days was usually provided by local Funeral Homes. Next, two private ambulance companies, Canyon Ambulance and Twin Cities Ambulance services operated until they went bankrupt around 1973.

Back in the day fire fighters were approached about taking on this responsibility. Fire guys response was, they fight fires and would not be ambulance/paramedic guys on top of what they were already doing. The problem continued to fester and people died needlessly. Folks in the cites managed to get themselves to hospital emergency rooms and the country folks either got their on their own or died. The mortuary people and the two private ambulance operators got tired of not getting paid for "dry runs" where they were summoned for service but the "client" had managed to get to the ER via some other means. This situation forced the creation of property taxpayer supported Canyon County Paramedics.

Every property taxpayer pays into the Canyon County Paramedic taxing district and all was well until a few years ago. As it stands in today's world Fire Guys all over the country don't have all that much to do for most of their working hours. Fire codes and modern building methods have taken actual fire fighting way, way down from what it was years ago. What to do now?

Where I live we now get to pay for two entities to show up at 911 emergency calls. Canyon County Paramedics and the Caldwell Fire Dept. When it takes minutes to get to the emergency, seconds can count when a life threatening emergency 911 call is placed. This keeps the fire guys statistics for service up and more than a few folks this side of the lawn. However, all of the transporting to hospital ER's is done by Canyon County Paramedics. Nampa wants to have a "do over" and garner the taxes paid by Nampa citizens into the city coffers. They want their Fire Guys and Rural Metro to take care of Nampa 911 medial calls and ambulance services.

The move to RURAL METRO CORPORATION for EMS Ambulance service, if allowed to move forward, does not bode well for any of us. The Great State of Nampa, if they pull this maneuver off, will end up costing everyone in Canyon County more money. Additionally, Rural Metro will kick back a "franchise fee" to the city of Nampa at our expense. Team Tom ends up with more money in the city treasury to spend.

The same war is about to start in Boise. A visit to the Boise Fire Fighter Union website references a trip to Salem, Oregon to check out Rural Metro service in that area.