That’s right. Boise City Councilors authorized $30,000 to be spent for a mere 500 responses to the survey–that comes out to $60 per interview. They use the answers to “guide the budget priorities” as they did with the $10 million windfall at Christmas.

The contract was awarded last month to an outfit called Northwest Research. Here are the duties outlined in the proposal:

Scope of Work:
1) Build on a previous citizen survey conducted in the spring of 2005 by developing and carrying out a 500 person survey lasting approximately 20 minutes, and deliver a report of the findings to the
Mayor and Council.
2) Facilitate focus groups on key public policy issues such as transportation, growth, etc.
3) Assist City departments with conducting additional customer surveys and feedback mechanisms.
4) Recommend and provide creative technology based tools to enable additional public feedback on
significant issues as they arise.

We would bet one of those “creative technology based tools” found in #4 includes the weekly Team Dave e-mail spam. Hard to criticize a mayor communicating with the public, but when the site has a picture of the candidate in shirt sleeves, it sure looks like a campaign tool to the GUARDIAN. If it had a picture of the entire council and the message–or even other pages on the city site–included other Councilors it may be less suspect.

Since ALL e-mails in the city are a public record, Team Dave–and those who subscribe–need to remember ANYONE can get those addresses for their own campaign spam.

J.R. is 98 today and recovering from a fall and bump on the head suffered outside the Fiesta Bowl. We wish him and the family all the best.

Butch appropriately had sideline seating befitting the governor. We hope that bumming rides on corporate jets isn’t a sign of the future.

Meanwhile Boise City’s Team Dave reports Mayor Bieter paid for everything out of his own pocket and sat in the stands with the orange and blue fans. Even a great football game has political overtones.

She sent a letter to Mayor Dave Bieter on May 2 and two months later Team Dave had the signs in place and had created a “pilot program” to allow motorcycles and scooters to park abreast in corner parking spots at 5th and Main and 8th and Bannock. The idea was to encourage fuel efficient transportation and not force two wheelers to take up an entire parking space which was the law.

Congratulations to Team Dave as well for listening to a citizen and acting quickly.

The GUARDIAN posted a story and comment from a reader saying John Anderson had been grounded by Mayor Dave Bieter and Airport Police Chief Mike Johnson was also “taxiing to a tiedown location at a hangar off the field.”

Anderson–and all department heads–serve at the pleasure ofthe Mayor and it looks like the pleasure had turned to pain, but you wouldn’t know if from the press release sent out by Team Dave.

Bieter praised Anderson for positive accomplishments and thanked him for his long service and contributions and wished him all the best in future endeavors.

Bieter said, “We are fortunate to have one of the finest airports of its size, or any size, in the nation.”

If Anderson was so damned good and gave us such a wonderful airport, why did Team Dave want him gone? You gotta love politics!

The GUARDIAN has been working below the radar to come up with a plan for a county-wide system of libraries in Boise and we can assure you it involves ALL citizens and “library types” who understand and value the services and rewards of a good library system.

People in Boise, Meridian, Garden City, Eagle, Star, and Kuna are all residents of Ada County. We should have just one library and Boise should NOT be the 900 pound gorilla.

Insiders at all levels–BPL staffers, Ada Community Library, and several 35 year library veterans–tell us the best thing we can do is have a COUNTY-WIDE LIBRARY. One former staffer tells us the State Library favors county libraries and they work toward such systems.

Guess what? TODAY, through a “consortium” of libraries that runs from Caldwell to Twin Falls and even to Hailey, you can use a Nampa library card to borrow a book in Boise and return it to Hailey when you are finished. Or any combination of transactions at those libraries.

If we consolidated just the Ada libraries we could have a greatly simplified system and EVERYONE would share in both the costs and the benefits.

As it is now Boise residents are getting hit unfairly in the pocketbook and Team Dave wants to build more libraries–he just doesn’t know how to fund them. The library law provides for consolidation with–A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE! We need to get this rolling before Boise gets a debt load or committed to one program without exploring consolidation.

Because Boise annexes beyong its ability to provide services, they PAY other libraries–over $500,000 to the Ada Community Library in southwest Ada County and Garden City–to provide services to Boise residents. HOWEVER, users (insiders call them “patrons”) from those districts can use their cards in Boise for free.

The GUARDIAN is in Champaign, Illinois writing this posting at a public library. Without getting into a debate about what libraries should offer, we feel computer access is absolutely essential. The days of card files and 10-year-old encyclopedias are gone. Today’s libraries offer traditional printed books alongside videos and access to just about any information on earth through the internet.

While Team Dave was busy offering up an ill fated and outdated library bond, the worker bees in the library business continue their efforts at making services available to library types everywhere.

We already share the books, how about sharing the control, funding, and costs countywide and we would all pay just once.

At $30 a plate and 1,000 business types attending, the special interest political group stands to gross $30,000. To his credit, Bieter has asked for some “free seats” for the general public as he did last year after queries from the GUARDIAN.

We have offered that instead of catering to the special interest of the Chamber, Bieter (and all mayors or commishes) should do the same gig with the proceeds destined for the Idaho Food Bank, homeless shelter, detox, Elks Rehab, or some other charity that assists the NEEDY.

Instead, they stayed with the Chamber venue. Whoever is mayor always trots out a list of “accomplishments” for the past year, proclaims the State of The City is good and we will all work toward continued success.

The GUARDIAN went through the past year’s postings and came up with the following items you probably won’t see or hear at the Chamber love fest.

BOISE CITY…
-Lost a supreme court decision over “judicial confirmation,” costing taxpayers many thousands of dollars in an effort to avoid a bond election for an airport parking garage.

–Lost a supreme court decision over efforts to not allow citizens to vote on the 10 Commandments rock controversy.

–Got bad legal news from the Attorney General who said ACHD has total authority over roads. Now ACHD is suing city and will probably win.

–Got snubbed by the G-BAD boys over attempts to locate a proposed convention center at 9th and Front.

–Provided special parking spots for Office Depot in the BoDo development.

–Lost a bond election for three proposed library branches.

–Failed to come to terms with Police Union over expired contract.

–Continues to battle with Ada County over land use issues.

–Remains a prime fund raiser for the Chamber of Commerce including the $30,000 state of the city address for the special interest political action group.

–Has failed to hire an internal auditor after the last one quit in the middle of the Poop Farm scandal.

–Legal department continues to probe the dirty trick phone calls two years ago on election eve. Laird Maxwell has claimed responsibility for the machine generated calls.

–Responded to GUARDIAN readers and designated two parking spaces as “two wheeler” parking downtown.

–Responded to GUARDIAN demands for audit and charged two employes with criminal acts at the Poop Farm.

–Curtailed the practice of loaning Public Works Dept. tools to employes after GUARDIAN readers revealed the practice.

In the interest of fair play, the GUARDIAN would like to hear YOUR nominations for the past year’s accomplishments or failures in Boise government.

Like the activist she is, Hillary deftly handled on camera interviews and schmoozed with the mayor and council president.

Hillary wrote to Mayor Dave Bieter and City Councilors asking them to amend the parking code which limited parking to just a single scooter in downtown parking spots. She thought it was dumb to not share space with other scooters and actually free up parking for the gas guzzlers.

Team Dave and the Councilors jumped aboard the scooter plan and within 60 days they had signs in place–encouraged no doubt by the e-mails and calls from GUARDIAN readers and other scooter and motorcycle riders who used the blog to share their ideas and game plan.

At the Wednesday photo op, Bieter was taken for a ride by a scooter babe wearing a pink helmet. In most situations it is the politician taking the citizen for a ride. Turn about is indeed fair play.

Part of the balancing act for the council is making the on-street parking a “pilot program.” If it works they can make it permanent or kill it if there are major problems. Locations at Main near 5th and on Bannock near 8th Street have been designated as “Two Wheel Parking.”

Search SCOOTER at the upper right of the page for previous stories.

Lots of hugs and kisses as Jerome Mapp said his farewells and just as many as Councilors Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan took their oaths of office.

Former councilor Mike Wetherell, dressed in his black 4th District Judge robe, administered the oaths to Jordan and newly elected Jim Tibbs. Bisterfeldt asked that county clerk Dave Navarro do the honors for him–as he did when Bisterfeldt was elected to the Ada County Commission.

Everyone said nice things about each other and the audience was responsive with prolonged applause and standing ovations.

Perhaps the most telling and least noticed moment of poetic justice came when Mayor Dave Bieter graciously installed TIBBS’ nameplate at the end of the dais–this after Bieter had declined to give Tibbs the nod as police chief.

We agree the on-again-off-again-on-again inquest and surrounding publicity in the midst of a city election is a bungling effort at best. However, the mayor is out of line talking to the Coroner about the inquest into the police officer shooting death of 16-year-old Matthew Jones.

The Coroner sits as judge during an inquest, complete with black robe. Bieter would–or should–know better than to talk to a judge about a pending case. The same is true in the matter of an inquest which is conducted as a “judicial proceeding.” If we as citizens tolerate elected officials attempting to influence the decision to hold or cancel a pending legal proceeding, our system becomes tainted.

If Bieter had asked his City Attorney to file a motion to cancel the hearing, we would see nothing wrong–that is why we have attorneys and courts.

The mainstream media folks seem to have missed the point of the Mayor trying to influence the Coroner to just call off the inquest in favor of the report of the City ombudsman.

Bieter is well intended. He claims to have the support of the Jones family in his plea to drop the inquest. The Coroner has wisely ignored the improper request of the Mayor and set the case for later this month. We can all hope the proceeding offers more answers than questions.

Meanwhile public officials and candidates with their own interests should refrain from injecting their voices into the case. Frankly, at this point we would feel much better if the inquest were conducted by people who have not been talking it over amongst themselves for weeks if not months.

Related posting.

You have to realize this cheerleading session is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and the mayor raises a gross sum of about $30,000 so businesses can lobby government to make sure they get the best breaks, tax or otherwise. Neighborhood groups and private citizens don’t have that access. The city also donates some of your tax dollars to the Chamber as well.

–Bieter brags that he has replaced 7 of 11 department heads. He has and that may be good news. We know of at least one of those remaining four who may be skating on thin ice.

–He put more cops on the streets thanks to moves by Chief Mike Masterson who eliminated the expensive horse patrol and reassigned other officers. Good news again.

–He touts a “neighborhood reinvestment program” which puts $400,000 toward sidewalks, parks and other amenities. BIG DEAL! That money belongs to the taxpayers to begin with. He didn’t mention the city foregoes 10 times that amount, $4 million in taxes, dedicated to the CCDC so they can continue to subsidize commercial development in the downtown. NO taxes on downtown improvements or construction goes to Boise City. Deceptive bad news.

–City authorized $5.2 million worth of industrial revenue bonds for Western Trailers 20,000 square foot plant. Apparently the company couldn’t make it without public assistance. Bieter told the crowd he was a former employee of the company. If they are already in business we want them to survive, but not on the backs of taxpayer’s line of credit. They like the new jobs, but that means more demand on government services and there is no requirement for them to pay taxes in the city where they work. Good news, bad news.

–Bieter takes credit for a 300 job expansion of the downtown Meadow Gold Dairy–where most of our milk is bottled regardless of brand. He also cites success in attracting other commercial entities due to city’s good treatment of business. Good spin, but as much bad news as good depending on your perspective.

–Big praise for BoDo, the new megaplex at Capitol and Front that causes the traffic squeeze. The place will be a huge drain on city resources for police, fire, parking etc. They pay no taxes to the city (CCDC gets all but school portion) and despite the $60 million investment, we see it as parking and traffic hell–especially with 8 movie screens. Not just bad news, a hurricane warning!

–Toss in some kid programs with cute acronyms sprinkled with terms like “partnership, leadership, leverage resources, phase one, expertise, developing, designing, initiative and you can’t miss. Good news even if we can’t understand it. It just SOUNDS good.

–Bieter talks of “neighborhoods by design” and a need to increase density. He even tossed a bone to critics by agreeing to abide by existing density regulations and curtailing the 20% bonus in density the city has been passing out. All this is aimed at slowing urban sprawl caused by people seeking more open space. Simply doesn’t compute. If the city wants to stop sprawl, why continue to extend sewers and annex out in the hinterlands? More bad news.

Overall we are amazed at the things Bieter and staff see as accomplishments. Many are nothing more than “puff” and others are simply not things the city should be doing. He really isn’t a bad guy, but he sure needs some direction.

The big question is, with all this rapid and massive growth, why is the city using citizen taxpayer money to attract even more people to Boise along with their kids, cars, and inflationary checkbooks? Natural growth is fine, but all these steroid injections will make you weird.