Washington County’s Clean Water Services and Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program both have work to do in shoring up public trust. But first, their leaders apparently need a refresher course on what exactly that means.
Let’s start with Clean Water Services, the sewer agency for more than 600,000 Washington County residents. As The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Jamie Goldberg has reported, agency officials freely used ratepayer money, either directly or indirectly, to fund five-star hotel rooms, first-class airfare to Hawaii and tens of thousands of dollars on meals at local restaurants.
These revelations came only after extensive requests by Goldberg for public records – many of which have yet to be turned over. And following her reporting, the Washington County chair and commissioners, who oversee the sewer agency as a separate board, had little to say. They dismissed the findings – Commissioner Jason Snider, a newcomer to the board, said he did not think the reporting on the Hawaii trips “was particularly accurate or balanced” although he gave no specifics why. Others didn’t comment at all…