City Of Woodland

Smith: Just how much is Woodland's City Council worth?

Dudley was a very conservative individual and politician who did a remarkable job for Woodland in his day. He fought for fiscal austerity and was a strong advocate of limited government, which for the time - perhaps even today - are good things to advocate in favor of.

I personally think Dudley was a lot like the late governor and president Ronald Reagan in both his politics and personality. While tight with the public's dollars, Dudley also came forward when Woodland's schools needed money and urged a successful tax hike that brought in revenue to modernize school buildings and other facilities.

While Dudley and I were not in the same ballpark politically - maybe even philosophically - I did respect the man. I respect most people who use facts and reason to make their arguments rather than rely on reconstituted dogma. I may not have agreed with Dudley's reasons, but he did have his reasons when he make his arguments.

There were two issues, however, on which I thought Dudley was off base. One was a strong belief that the city of Woodland should not, under any circumstances, be in the real estate business. It should not, he said, buy and sell property for the sake of making money. I can understand his reasoning, but I've always thought the city would be in a better position to negotiate with developers if it used the power to buy and sell property.

On the other hand I can see where Dudley was coming from. That sort of power could easily be misused or abused. Additionally, considering the real estate market, one would have to be pretty quick to avoid losing money in property purchases or sales.

The other matter on which I think Dudley was wrong was in capping salaries by ordinance of City Council members.

Woodland's council members are capped at $250 a month salary, although they do receive health care benefits. That's a paltry $15,000 a year for the entire five-person council, and works out to $1.44 an hour for a regular 40-hour week per council member.

I understand why Dudley wanted council members to have a fixed salary. He thought being a member of the council should be a public service, which is a noble ideal. People who want to serve their community shouldn't do it for the money.

Daily Insider | City seeks applicants for library board | SW ...

The city of Vancouver is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District Board of Trustees.

Applicants must be city residents. The  seven-year term begins Jan. 1, 2012 , and expires Dec. 31, 2018 .

This seven-member board oversees the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District System, whose service area includes the city of Woodland plus Clark, Klickitat and Skamania Counties. Board member responsibilities include setting policy, adopting the budget, encouraging effective service programs and ensuring that the public has equal access to information.

For applications or further information, contact Amanda Delapena in the City Manager’s Office, P.O. Box 1995, Vancouver, WA. 98668, or call 360-487-8605 . To apply online, visit: www.cityofvancouver.us/boards .

The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 .

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Decisions of the Railroad Commission of the State of California