City Government
Potential Poop Practice Conflict
April 9, 2008 
Potential conflict of interest at Boise’s poop plants and the poop plants at Avimor and Hidden Springs are subject of a newly opened probe by Boise officials–thanks to a story in the Daily Paper.
Statesman reporter Kathleen Kreller did some digging into the poop business and came up with documentation showing the operators of Boise’s facility have a moonlighting business doing work for a private consultant who also does contract work for Boise.
Depending on the time of day, these guys stand to be either working FOR the contractor or he is working for THEM. Both the Daily Paper and the GUARDIAN have received tips on the practice from what appear to be knowledgeable insiders.
We ran a short MARCH POST noting Boise Councilors had passed an ordinance to preclude poop from Avimor from being processed by Boise. We found it ironic that Boise plant managers were working for the Avimor planned community (subdivision) while their daytime bosses were trying to thwart their efforts.
City Councilors have talked to the acting Public Works director and were assured the matter had been reviewed by the City ethics panel and there was no problem. Based on the Daily Paper story, it seems the ethics panel, city attorney, and human resources departments are about to get their first review.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Apr 10, 2008, 6:55 am
Just another of those now common Idaho cases where, without an illustrated event program, number placarded participants, a calender, an atomic clock and a stop watch, it is nearly impossible to tell who is “doing” whom.
Even then you would still have to specualte as to their true motives and the real beneficiaries of their actions. Hint: It is very seldom the average property owning taxpayer they worry about taking care of.
Apr 10, 2008, 1:10 pm
The poop farm operators remind me of the politicians we elect who say they are working for us but in reality work against us and aid and abet the developers trying so hard to ruin our neighborhoods and lifestyle. I think this will turn into a smelly finger pointing contest. (aka a Poopy Mexican Standoff) Will political fingers pass the sniff test this time?
Apr 10, 2008, 3:37 pm
Hold the phone on this one.
This is NOT new, just a repeat of what these two same managers have been doing all along. In fact, this is the second time this matter to come up in the Guardian.
Remember back when their Manager (Richard Dees) had a policy to loan out city tools and equipment (a sweet deal for these two and their business).
This all came up about the same time the Poop Farm was making the news. These same two managers were involved in their own business back then when several employees started reporting to the Guardian about their office hour’s activities.
It is all the same players. Nothing happened back then and I would be surprised if anything happens this time around.
Apr 10, 2008, 7:16 pm
Commenter “dh” is exactly correct in his analysis of the complexity of the situation.
Apr 10, 2008, 9:27 pm
I have to concur with the blog responses on the Daily Paper’s version of this story – it’s a non-story and the folks inside Boise City are starting to be seen for what they really are. Buffons lead by a buffon with an agenda full of buffonery. Want to do a story on poop plants – go look for the biggest violater of poop plant pollutants in the area dumping into Boise River. You guessed it..those ran by Buffon, Inc.
Apr 11, 2008, 5:54 am
It would seem to me that if these individuals have that kind of energy and free time on there hands to take on a second job, then somewhere they are slacking off or maybe the City isn’t giving them enough to do. Maybe the city doesn’t need those position? Pretty hard to fill 2 jobs and keep your full attention.
Apr 11, 2008, 3:54 pm
Wasn’t there something in the paper about Avimor throwing a party for themselves? Perhaps a bunch of people should go and carry signs that read “Save our Air Quality – Stop leapfrog development.”
And lets all agree to stop using the term “planned community” when it is obviously just another subdivision that will result in thousands of people making daily trips down Highway 55.
Apr 12, 2008, 6:45 pm
Robert –
Each treatment plant has to have a knowledgeable, highly certified person to run them. Both of these managers meet those qualifications which is why they are needed and maybe why they are given the freedoms and privileges they have.
These freedoms and privileges are such that would allow them to run their “so called” moonlighting business in a questionable matter. Rather or not they are, or if they are now involved in this newest of conflict of interest activities is yet another issue for the city to once again look into.
Not everyone in the city has such questionable after hour’s businesses. It just seems that these two walk some fine lines that should be questioned, maybe before they get in the news like this time and in times past.
Apr 12, 2008, 9:04 pm
The real issue here is the lack of a real ethics policy at the City of Boise. The policy is discretionary and left to interpretation. It is no wonder that no problems have been found with their outside employment. It is in the City’s interest to say that there is no problem and everything is A-Okay. The simple fact that this issue has come up more than once in the local papers indicates that there truly is a problem.
A solid ethics policy similar to ones found in States that practice open and transparent governance would not allow this type of moonlighting.