Questions Supe 2
Questions, supervisor candidates District 2
New Reader Questions: 03/07/10
Reader Questions for both candidates:
1. Please explain your position on private property rights.
For Todd Sloan only (Peter has already taken action on this):
2. What would you have done/how would you have voted on the Loyalton pool.
There are some difficult issues before the Board of Supervisors.
A. One of particular interest to the District 2 supervisor is the great stretch of unincorporated land stretching over to Verdi. Land use always impacts the cost of service delivery. It is cheapest to provide services to a population center, but the owners of the scattered parcels have property development rights. Further, the nearness to Truckee/Tahoe and Reno, Nevada will make those beautiful areas very desirable, when the economy recovers. How would you reconcile the service needs with property rights (within the constraints of tax and land use laws, such as acts empowering facility and developer fees to fire protection) considering that growth pressures are likely in the next two decades?
B. The Loyalton Landfill site is one of the few such sites remaining in California. The June, 2009 solid waste study indicated several key issues including:
- the need to meet AB 939 solid waste diversion goals immediately
- a budget shortfall of $12,000
- the closure of the landfill site in eight years
- the likely closure of transfer stations and shift to mandatory pickup.
If selected, how would you propose to deal with the pending solid waste crisis?
C. The economic depression, resulting falling timber revenues, and the crisis at the state has forced difficult decisions on the supervisors. A large budget item is personnel. All employers have to balance the need for qualified employees with the need to pay as little as is feasible. What suggestions do you have for meeting that balance with County employees?
D. The supervisors have to travel a great deal, and most often they do so out of pocket. The travel is to take part in groups that support rural counties, like RCRC, biomass groups, QLG and so on. Those networks give Sierra County clout greater than its small size. The supervisors approved a salary increase some time ago but it has never been collected. Would you be able to travel to county membership groups?
E. One of the most important, and riskiest, roles the Board of Supervisors has is as mediator in land use decisions. The supervisors balance the needs of residents and communities with the environment and state and federal requirements. What philosophy would you use to guide your land use goals?
F. The state and federal governments both have bills moving forward that would impact surface water rights and users. What ideas do you have to protect the few remaining "county of origin" rights?
G. What do you see as the county’s best resource, and how should the county develop that resource?
Finally, what experience do you have that makes you the best candidate for this office?
