The Rest of the Story
Guest post by Eagle Councilman Charlie Baun
This series of essays was originally posted by Eagle Councilman Charlie Baun on social media in response to statements by Council President Brad Pike, and I am republishing them here with permission. I have observed Councilman Baun to be extremely levelheaded and objective during his tenure, and I believe he clearly lays out the issues facing Eagle voters. The only editing has been for the purpose of formatting.
Based on the political gamesmanship that has been going on over the last two weeks associated with Brad Pike’s mayoral candidacy, including the interview with Boise Dev on Sep 14, 2023, I feel it’s timely for me to respond on the record and as someone that has been directly involved with Mr. Pike and his tenure on the City Council over the last three and a half years. As there is a significant amount of information, I plan on posting a different set of topics each day for the next 4 days (5 total). Here is a list of topics:
Day 1: Background and Accomplishments
Day 2: Police and Budgeting
Day 3: Development/Avimor
Day 4: Economic Development/Downtown
Day 5: Litigation and Dictators
Background
I ran for City Council in 2019 with both Mayor Pierce and Councilman Pike. We attended many open houses together, talked about our political strategies and stances, our backgrounds, and what we wanted to do for the City of Eagle if elected. We were all elected and have continued to work well with each other for the last three and a half years. So, it was very hard for me to see the political pandering over the last several months, coupled with the outright lies that Mr. Pike has been putting out the last several weeks. So, I feel it is time to address and correct what Mr. Pike has been saying, and what he said in his interview with Boise Dev on Sep 14, 2023.
Boise Dev on Sep 14, 2023: “Mr. Pike … was elected mayor as a Republican in the small Bay Area suburb of Hollister California”.
Correction: Mr. Pike was never elected Mayor. He was elected to City Council, and they have a rotating mayoral seat. Each council member serves one year as Mayor. They also have a full-time City Manager. Hollister is a very different election system and organizational structure compared to what the City of Eagle has.
Accomplishments
Mr. Pike stated, “If they want somebody who will listen to them and sit down and have conversations one on one and have a viable solution to the problems they face, then I am the candidate.”
I agree that Mr. Pike does listen and talk with constituents, as we all do. However, that is the extent of what Mr. Pike has done. In the nearly four years he has been on City Council he has not initiated any new working groups, has not sponsored or help develop any new or updated ordinances or resolutions, and other than attending meetings and reporting on them, he has done very little to actively make changes to how the City is run or organized.
The one program Mr. Pike did try to initiate was the Downtown Advisory Committee. However, before it even got off the ground, it failed. Mr. Pike cites that it failed because city staff (economic development) left, but as a city leader he should have actively tried to work with the Mayor, Council, and staff to push the program forward. He never once asked for additional resources or staffing and he did not continue the committee with the new Economic Development Specialist, he just let it fail. That’s not what city leaders do.
To be direct, Mr. Pike has been ineffective in his tenure on City Council at actively making any beneficial changes to the city or how it is managed. I can say this with certainty because during that same tenure in office, I have authored or directly helped author two ordinances, with a third in draft, two resolutions, and helped update multiple other ordinances/resolutions with staff. In order to create a fiscally sustainable and viable way to preserve ag land and open space in Eagle I have worked with staff and a number of partners over the last three years to create the Conservation and Education Program (CEP), initiated the BLM Open Space working group and helped author the associated report, assisted staff in reinitiating the city’s Recreation and Public Purpose Act (RPP) application with BLM to develop a 2,200 acre regional park, helped initiate the shooting sports park and regional sports complex, and have worked with Eagle Fire Department and city staff to develop a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) ordinance to protect homes in the foothills.
So, while I agree that listening and talking to constituents is a big part of the job, it shouldn’t be all of it.
I will put out the Police and Budgeting topic tomorrow.
Thank You, Councilman Charlie Baun
Based on the political gamesmanship that has been going on over the last two weeks associated with Brad Pike’s mayoral candidacy, including the interview with Boise Dev on Sep 14, 2023, I feel it’s timely for me to respond on the record and as someone that has been directly involved with Mr. Pike and his tenure on the City Council over the last three and a half years. As there is a significant amount of information, I plan on posting a different set of topics each day for the next 3 days (5 total).
Today's topic: Police and Budgeting
First, I would ask that you read the public statement that was issued by myself and Councilwomen Russell and Gindlesperger on Sep 16, 2023.
The use of the police contract negotiation process as a political tool is reprehensible and undermines the process and the City’s (Mayor at the direction of Council) ability to negotiate the best deal for the City, which must balance public safety with fiscal responsibility.
Mr. Pike said, “he wants to reallocate money out of Eagle’s budget currently set for other projects and costs to grow the city’s ranks of police officers”.
Mr. Pike says we need more police yet doesn’t say why we need them--does their average daily calls for service exceed the norm and/or is the response time unacceptable? What’s his plan to fund the additional officers? How do we pay for them? He was on record (Town Hall Meeting 7-31-2023 at 17:40 into the meeting) as saying we not only need two more police officers, (which we are in negotiation to add), we need 10 more. At a cost of roughly $420,000 per two officers and their equipment that would be roughly $5 million dollars more per year in contracts, more than doubling the existing contract.
While he continues to say this, he has not once made any recommendations on how to fund these additional police other than to use general funds. Without proper planning, these additional costs would result in significant short and long-term deficit spending and require large increases in property taxes to support it. And, without updating our comprehensive plan's level of service for police (which we are in the middle of), the City would not be able to collect police impact fees from developers. Where is the sustainable plan?
Mr. Pike wants to hire the police and figure out where the money comes from later, what I affectionately refer to as California spending. That is fiscally irresponsible.
Here are the facts.
The City of Eagle has three primary funding sources. The first is city property taxes, which is the only consistent annual funding sources (income we can count on) the city has. The second is our share of State sales tax revenue; however, this can fluctuate significantly from year to year. The third are one-time fees associated primarily with development. There are others but they make up a very small percentage of the budget (which is accessible online at the cities website). To give you some perspective, our current annual City property tax income estimate is about $4.2 million. This entire amount is used to pay our current police contract without any additional officers.
So, Mr. Pike’s proposed plan would take 100% of the City property taxes, as well as 100% of the State sales tax revenue, and it would still require additional funding. What’s the plan to fund the balance? Will he increase our property taxes like he did as city council/mayor in Hollister, CA when they ran a budget deficit? We don’t know do we.
In addition, his plan doesn’t account for city staff, facilities, infrastructure, programming, maintenance, adopted level or service, and everything else we need to run the actual city. Under his plan these components of city management would completely be funded by one-time fees which are primarily associated with development. If you were here in 2007 through 2009 you will remember the staff layoffs, reductions in city services, and issues with the City maintaining the contracted services we had (including the police contract). Not to mention that since our city budget is now fully dependent on those one-time fees, we will have to continue to build more and more homes to maintain services. Mr. Pike’s “plan” is the definition of California spending.
As a side note for police:
Since 2000 the City Council and mayor have increased the police budget by 40% (3.1 million to 4.2 million).
In 2021 (for FY 2022) the City Council and mayor added 2 new officers with full equipment, and we added a community officer.
The City Council and Mayor have also hired an independent company to monitor the newly installed park cameras to alleviate the need to have officers patrolling those areas which frees them up to patrol neighborhoods.
The Mayor is currently in negotiation (at the direction of the Council) to add 2 more officers.
I will put out the Development/Avimor topic tomorrow.
Thank you, Councilman Charlie Baun
I apologize for not sending this out last night. Now that I am back in town, I will get out the last two installments. However, I did want to address some of the comments received from the first two posts. First and foremost, this is not a smear campaign. Mr. Pike has made a lot of comments on both his Facebook page and an interview he did with Boise Dev. All I have posted are my personal responses to those statements he has made on the record based on working directly with Mr. Pike, the Mayor, City Council, and staff for the last 3.5 years.
It was also mentioned that I am doing this to support the Mayor. This is also untrue. Mr. Pike’s comments on the Boise Dev article and on his social media sites are filled with “issues” he has with what the Mayor has done to date, and how he would do better. Yet, the majority of the issues he speaks about are not decisions the Mayor makes, as they are mostly at the direction of Council. So, what he is saying is that we, the Council, are doing a poor job (which includes himself) and I disagree with him. As such, I am stating why I personally disagree with things he is saying, and correcting some things that are incorrect.
With that said, my last post (Litigation and Dictators) will be tomorrow. Then you will be done with me unless you come to give public testimony or come to the Town Hall meeting in October.
Development/Avimor
Mr. Pike said, “instead of listening to what developers want for Eagle, he would listen to the residents and weigh the impact a project would have on city services”. Again, this is just more political pandering. We can’t by law just listen to the residents. We as a council must listen to all aspects of the application, and all those that want to put forth information relevant to the application, or their personal comments on the record (applicant, citizens, user groups, everyone). We don’t get to pick and choose who we listen to; and when it comes to private property and a landowner’s rights to develop their lands, we better listen to them just as much as we listen to their next-door neighbor. Just like our predecessors did for every development currently in Eagle that we as Eagle citizens currently live in.
Developer applicants and other affected persons in permit application proceedings are entitled to have the application heard by informed decision-makers. Procedural due process all requires us to maintain consistency when it comes to actions on individual land use decisions or permitting i.e., decisions should not be arbitrary or capricious. Due process rights are derived from the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment. U.S. Const. amend. V and XIV, § 1. Idaho’s Constitution also guarantees due process. Idaho Const. art. I, § 13.
These same rights applied to the Avimor application. Mr. Pike stated, “We had hundreds of people who said no at the Avimor hearing and (Pierce and the other City Council members) blatantly ignored the people who elected them.” He said, “If they are electing us, they are expecting us to be their representative for their community”.
The City Council makes decisions for the community, about 33,000 people, not a couple hundred. And to say we "blatantly ignored the people who elected them" is completely false and more political pandering. Again, we don’t get to pick and choose who we listen to. We are all given the same submitted information for review (assuming you actually read the packets prior to the meetings - see March 28 Avimor hearing where Mr. Pike was on record saying he had not read the packet prior to the meeting), which is made accessible to the public for review, we listen to the applicant, we listen to staff, we listen to the public, the applicant responds, we deliberate as a council, and vote on what we think is best for 33,000 citizens, on what will make Eagle a better city, and what is legal within our process.
The Avimor application followed the legal process, and anyone can read the approved Conclusions of Law that were presented at the April 25, 2023, meeting date. I highly recommend you also look at the video from March 30, 2023, where the council fully discusses, in significant detail, each aspect of the development before the vote.
We cannot just say no to an applicant because a group of residences don’t want it in their back yard, and we can’t say no just because we want to use it to help in an upcoming campaign. Not honoring an applicant’s due process rights or making decisions that are arbitrary or capricious is not our system of government, is foolish, and can lead to litigation from the applicant. Not legal or smart. Not a way to run a city.
Economic Development/Downtown
Mr. Pike is sharply critical of Pierce’s efforts to attract major businesses to Eagle. He said the city’s Economic Development department “fell apart and went away” when the city’s economic development director and her assistant left the city over frustrations with Pierce telling businesses they hoped to attract could not come to the city.”
“He also accused Pierce of turning away businesses who wanted to set up shop in Eagle” but had few details on how that worked.
What Mr. Pike is saying is incorrect. The facts show that over the last 2-3 years, the City has had record increases in commercial and small business development. This is even with Covid bringing the economy to a halt during our administration and the changes in the economic development program. This level of economic development doesn’t happen if this is not a priority of the Mayor and Council. Our goal for the City has always been to reduce reliance on residential one-time fees by bringing a larger commercial tax base. This is happening because of the work the Mayor and his staff have done over the last three years with Council support.
Mr. Pike is also incorrect about the economic development (ED) director and her assistant. They did not leave over, “frustrations with Pierce telling businesses they hoped to attract could not come to the city”. I am familiar with why they left, as I talked and coordinated with the ED routinely. However, as this is also personal information about former staff members that are no longer employed with the city, the reason for their decision to leave should not be discussed with the public and could put the city at risk for litigation. Councilman Pike should absolutely know this and is being irresponsible in discussing information of a personal nature in a public forum.
Thanks again. Only one more to go.
Charlie Baun
Ok folks this is the last post, and I save the shortest and most succinct one until the end.
Litigation
Mr. Pike said, “if elected mayor he would approach situations like this differently, instead of going to court.”
“I don’t support any lawsuits against our own people,” he said.
Mr. Pike has voted “in favor of” every law suit the city has been in during his tenure in office. He has never once voted against the lawsuits or even made a comment on the record that he was not in support of them until the Boise Dev article and his bid for Mayor. Please check the voting record or ask Mr. Pike himself if you think this is incorrect.
Dictators
Mr. Pike says, “If somebody wants a dictator and somebody wants someone to micromanage the opportunity to come into our community, then I’m not their candidate.”
Mr. Pike says he is not a dictator or micromanager yet everything he has said in the Boise Dev article and in his political campaign is about what he will do. How he will get things done and make things right. The fact is that isn’t how City government works, nor should it. While the mayor manages the city staff, they can’t create new programs, change development trends, add police, defund infrastructure projects, move funding, or any of the things Mr. Pike says he will do without the approval of City Council. So rather than dictating what he will do for the City, maybe he needs to think about how he can work collaboratively with City Council to get things done, or he will get nothing done.
Last Thought
Regardless of who is running for office, or which side of the aisle you are on politically, get the facts. The real facts, not campaign promises and pandering. If they say they are going to do something, ask them how they will do it, what it will cost, where do the funds come from (short and long-term), what are the impacts to the community, and what are the alternatives or impacts of not doing it. If they can't or won't answer, preferably on their own, not with handlers writing or answering it for them, that should probably give you your answer.
With this said, what are your thoughts on having at least one Town Hall style debate for both mayoral and council candidates? Not like the one we did in 2019, with all candidates on one stage and 60 seconds to answer. Rather we split it into two meetings, one for mayors and one for council with citizen developed questions and a structured Question and Answer session? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
I thank everyone for listening, commenting, and discussing. Please vote in November.
Charlie Baun
Awesome work putting this information together Charlie. Your hard work and professionalism will be missed on Eagle city council.
God Bless You Charlie Braun, for your honesty, integrity and your willingness to speak truth to power. No doubt why you were elected in the first place! Your solid, thoughtful presence will be missed,