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September 27, 2007 Front Page |
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City Attorney And Planning Director FiredBy Brian AddisonBaker City Manager Steve Brocato has announced the termination of City Attorney David Fine and the termination of recently hired Planning Director Evan MacKenzie. Brocato stated, “The City Attorney position will not be immediately filled, rather, the City will retain an outside attorney.” As for the termination of the new Planning Director, Brocato said, “We will immediately seek a way to reorganize the Planning Department.”
David Fine had served as Baker City Attorney since 2006 under then City Manager Jerry Gillham. Fine served a dual-role for the city as City Manager Pro-tem and City Attorney from September 2006 until the first of the year when City Manager Brocato was hired. City Planning Director MacKenzie has been terminated after only several months on the job. ...Read More
Baker City Selects Wheatland As New Insurance ProviderBy Brian AddisonThe City has chosen Wheatland Insurance based in Pendleton, to provide Baker City’s property and casualty insurance at a rate of $4,250 annually. City Manager Steve Brocato said that the rate quoted by Wheatland Insurance is a flat-rate and if the city should decide to add to the insurance policy, for example by increasing liability coverage, Wheatland charges no additional commission charge. The commission charges are a big reason for the change to Wheatland according to Brocato. Past insurance provider Clarke & Clarke Insurance included a commission fee of 12 percent, which pushed the city’s insurance costs to $20,000 last year. The arrangement with Wheatland Insurance results in a savings to the city of about $15,000 annually.
Baker City received authorization from city council several months ago to send out a Request for Proposal for a new insurance provider. In making the final decision to go with Wheatland Insurance, Brocato said, “We chose Wheatland because they were a little less expensive than the second choice, Rhodes Insurance. Also Rhodes doesn’t have a local office.” ...Read More
OTEC General Manager Relieved Of His Duties
Cliff Stewart, General Manager of Oregon Trail Electric Co-op (OTEC) has been relieved of his duties effective immediately. The OTEC Board of Directors made the decision Sept. 25 during an executive session of their regularly scheduled meeting. No additional details were released.
OTEC Board President Gary Miller of John Day will assume the duties of General Manager. A committee made up of several OTEC Board members has been appointed to search for a new General Manager.
“I can assure the Co-op consumers can expect to continue to receive top quality electrical and customer service during this time of change,” said Miller.
Stewart began his career at OTEC as General Manager on Feb. 1, 1993 after working as General Manager of Farmers Electric Co-op in Clovis, N.M. ...Read More
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