In Our View June 10: Candidates Line Up

Despite trying economic times, more than 125 people signed up last week to run for public office in Clark County. If elected this fall, they'll serve on city councils, school boards, fire commissions, and sewer and cemetery boards. It's hardly glamorous work, but these public servants can reflect on the knowledge that they have the power to make our portion of the world a better place to live and to work.

In some cases, the motivation to serve may not be completely altruistic. Some of these government boards have voted for themselves the same elaborate health insurance benefits that the agencies' full-time employees enjoy. And a few of the jobs come with a paycheck, stipend or per-diem payment. That extra money in the bank is more appealing these days.

No matter their motivation, candidates would do well to recall that these trying times demand more than business-as-usual. Local governments are feeling the pain of the recession that the private sector has felt for even longer. The immediate outlook isn't good; last week's state revenue forecast found the economy is still performing worse than expected. A recovery could start late this fall, but economists expect a gradual "U" shaped recovery, rather than the faster "V" shape.

Smart candidates know that voters already sense this. Here are some other things the savviest candidates will keep in mind as the campaign season kicks off:

n Agencies must focus on their core missions. Now is not the time to promise tangential expansions that provide only marginal return to the taxpayers. A great example is the city of Portland's apparent fascination with renaming a street for the late migrant labor organizer Cesar Chavez. If the city spent half the effort fixing the streets that it spend on this controversy, potholes would be something you read about in history books.

n Payroll costs must be controlled. Most public employees are represented by unions, which have for years driven hard bargains with local government agencies. As a result, employees are used to regular step increases and cost-of-living increases. Even before the recession, payroll costs grew much faster than revenue. The City of Vancouver has been dealing with this issue for at least nine years. It's time to confront reality, no matter how painful, and link future pay increases to growth in the economy and agency revenue.

n Look for small ways to make a difference. By parking school buses during the middle of the day and having the drivers carpool back to the garage, Battle Ground Public Schools can save an estimated $14,500 per year on fuel. The suggestion came from local resident and retired engineer Jim Davidson. The only thing better would have been if the suggestion had come a long time ago and from one of the school board members, who are elected to watch after the taxpayers' money.

n Consider consolidating services. We already have some success here. Possibly the largest local example is Clark County Fire District 5, which contracts virtually all of its duties to the Vancouver Fire Department. We have only one jail, one emergency dispatch center and one metro-area parks department. County Administrator Bill Barron told Columbian reporter Michael Andersen last month that he expects more sharing of services as budgeting becomes more difficult.

There is reason for optimism. Clark County has a history of producing good leaders — people like Val Ogden, Bruce Hagensen and Betty Sue Morris come to mind — and we have many good elected officials who will continue in office. But it will be unusually important for this large field of candidates to be intelligent, informed and motivated to rethink how our local agencies can do better with less.