Public Transparency

The Alfalfa Fire District and its Chief are reportedly under investigation by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division for potential violations of state election law related to advocacy for a local levy measure

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has vetoed House Bill 4177, rejecting a closely watched proposal to revise Oregon’s public meetings law and calling instead for a “collaborative fix” to address concerns from both local governments and transparency advocates.

State and county officials have confirmed that boundary change filings submitted by Alfalfa Fire District Chief Chad LaVallee improperly classified Juniper Acres properties as annexed into the district,

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Friday issued a formal notice that she is considering vetoing a controversial public meetings bill, citing concerns that portions of the legislation could weaken government transparency.

After some much needed sunlight on its operations, Travel Oregon is looking for a new chief executive—at a significantly lower salary.

The Ochoco West Water & Sanitary Authority (OWWSA) board is expected to consider a matter involving the Ochoco West Horse Coop at its meeting tonight, a development that again places attention on unresolved legal and governance questions surrounding the public body.

A local contractor with longstanding government ties and a history of ethics concerns involving federal contracts, used taxpayer funds to attend conferences at luxury resorts and to pay for meals for its governing board members.

A Crook County Circuit Court judge has entered a default judgment and injunction against the Ochoco West Water and Sanitary Authority (OWWSA), ordering the district to release public records after it failed to respond to a lawsuit filed last fall by the Prineville Review.

The Crook County Board of Commissioners voted last week to temporarily shift responsibility for administering public records requests away from the county’s legal department and into county administration, adopting an interim structure while a comprehensive rewrite of the county’s public records policy is underway.

The Ochoco West Water and Sanitary Authority (OWWSA) continues to face allegations of violating Oregon’s public meetings laws, even as a formal investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) remains underway into the district’s governance and transparency practices.