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Following are the initial questions from Blue Mountain News and the complete unedited answers from Wanda Brooks:
BMN: Why do you want to be Commissioner (in three or four sentences)?
WB: I truly believe I can enhance and preserve the quality of life in Columbia County.
BMN: What are the three most important issues that will face the Columbia County Board of Commissioners in the next four years?
WB: Budget- A concentrated effort to effectively utilize funds and maximize efficiency is paramount. My single most important responsibility is to safeguard your tax dollar. To accomplish that will entail efficient ties to money spent and services provided. Create a definitive plan and build the budget around those needs. I plan to implement a zero budget exercise immediately upon taking office. This will generate a clear and concise budget that each individual can read and understand allowing a greater understanding of where your tax dollar is coming from and where it is being spent. Taxpayers must be informed.
Economic Development - Local government along with the citizens of our county must define and effectively implement an economic development strategy that works. Understand that people always confuse motion with accomplishment! As commissioner I will execute the adopted plan ensuring that both Dayton and Starbuck city governments are actively involved. Local governments and citizens must pull together to achieve maximum results.
Wind Turbines and County Roads hold equal importance for the third issue. Both with unique concerns and problems, I feel they must be handled responsibly through willingness to listen to those in the trenches. I plan to provide the common ground for resolution by listening to the people and formally responding to concerns.
BMN: Can you give some specific examples of work experience or things you've done in the past that demonstrate that you will be a highly effective Commissioner?
WB: As a grant writer and land use consultant I facilitate the process of funding programs and projects. I deal with multimillion dollar budgets daily. Over the years I have established a highly regarded network of professionals in the industry as well as contacts within state and federal government. The following is a paradigm of my accomplishments. I was instrumental in funding a state of the art community center in Cle Elum, WA. I have secured funds for Okanogan County to purchase and implement a permit tracking software system. I have secured a large grant for restoration of Wait Mill in Waitsburg. I attended a CTED conference in Moses Lake for 2009 funding on Sept. 9, 2008. My work as a land use consultant requires intense knowledge of Planning Enabling Act of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) as well as Environmental Impact Assessment regulations (EIA) and SEPA rules. I served on the planning commission in S. Cle Elum, Washington and was instrumental in the development of the town's Comprehensive Plan. The significance of this is that S. Cle Elum was the first town in the county to adopt a comprehensive plan for growth under the state's growth management act. My experience will facilitate positive support for the ideas and requests from the community.
BMN: What do you see as the biggest difference between you and your opponent?
WB: I bring new ideas, endless energy, enthusiasm and dedication to the citizens of our county. I am available full time to hear your concerns and ideas and to achieve results for the people.
BMN: If you are elected, what one thing would you like to be most known for four years from now?
WB: Honest and effective government.
After receiving the initial responses from Brooks, we sent her a set of follow-up questions. Here are those questions and her complete, unedited answers:
BMN: On your list of important issues, you put the budget first. Can you give any specific examples in the current Columbia County Budget where you think budget items and/or amounts should have been different?
WB: With zero-based processing one can forget about last year, create a budget that is clear and concise, and see if one can provide a detail of expenses for what one would need to fully accomplish the goals of the county. This technique will help one to develop a complete picture of what the county services and programs actually needs to cost and not just what it has been costing. This is the best way to assure that citizens can see how and where their tax dollars are being spent.
BMN: Do you have any specific suggestions for changes you'd like to see in the county's 2009 budget?
WB: As stated in the previous answer I fully intend to implement a zero budget exercise. Zero-based budgeting is a technique of planning and decision-making which reverses the working process of traditional budgeting. In traditional incremental budgeting, departmental managers justify only increases over the previous year budget and what has been already spent is automatically sanctioned. No reference is made to the previous level of expenditure. By contrast, in zero-based budgeting, every department function is reviewed comprehensively and all expenditures must be approved, rather than only increases. Zero-based budgeting requires the budget request be justified in complete detail by each department manager starting from the zero-base. The zero-base is indifferent to whether the total budget is increasing or decreasing.
BMN: Regarding the second issue you listed, do you have any specific economic development projects in mind, other than wind energy, that you hope to work on as Commissioner?
WB: Economic Development is everyone's goal but no one has evaluated why efforts have been less than successful. I am going to lead a process to determine what our citizens want and then determine the obstacles that need to be removed.
BMN: Regarding wind energy, do you feel that the recently adopted changes to Columbia County's zoning ordinance regarding wind turbine setbacks are appropriate, or should they have been more or less stringent?
WB: In speaking with the public, the people aren't as concerned with the numbers as they are the process with which the turbines were introduced into our county. This began with our current commissioners and not our planning department. Formal response should be a priority when any citizen voices a question or concern.
BMN: You said that there are "unique concerns and problems" regarding county roads. Can you give any specific examples of those, and what changes you think should be made?
WB: The county shop project is an example. My concern with the budget is at this point it is only numbers that add up. In the current expense budget it is clear what salary is paid to what person but in the county roads budget it is convoluted. I had to contact the courthouse for the information I was looking for. As I converse with the public I am hearing a real disconnect from what people think are priorities versus the numbers and more importantly the process that created them.
BMN: Have you been attending any Columbia County Commissioners' meetings in the last year?
WB: No, to keep up on issues I have been out speaking with the people and laying the commissioners decisions against the public's perception.
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