145 YEARS OF HEADLINES & HISTORY Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2024
Vol. 145 No. 3
$1.00
Bill aims at taking control of sheriffs LOU MARZELES EDITOR
The culprit behind the PUD’s new rates GRACE BLAND FOR THE SENTINEL
The Klickitat PUD (KPUD) recently released a statement detailing a rate increase that became effective as of January 1, 2024. The increases vary according to rate classification, but overall the average increase comes to 4.5%. Jim Smith, KPUD’s general manager, shed some light on why there is an increase and why it matters to the community. “We buy about 85% of our power from Bonneville Power Administration,” Smith began, giving some background on why the rates have increased. Bonneville only supplies up to 85% of electricity sales at a discounted rate, so the PUD purchases the remaining 15% from the market. In 2021, the market prices were about $35 per megawatt hour [MWh], but as of 2023, that number has nearly doubled to be $60 per unit. “Instead of buying that 15% at 35 bucks, we are now buying it at $60.” After taking those numbers into account, the PUD was able to determine a 9% rate increase, which they decided to spread out to 3% over three years. Considering inflation as well, the PUD calculated another 1.5% inflationary increase. The inflationary percentage is matched to the 2024 year, but that number may rise or fall depending on inflation rates over the upcoming years. The 3% for the market price increase, along with the 1.5% for inflation, makes an overall 4.5% revenue increase. While that percentage seems fairly straightforward, it’s not a
one-size-fits-all number. “We do what’s called a ‘cost of service study,’” Smith mentioned. He explained that there are various rate classes, ranging from residential to industrial, and this study assigns a slightly different revenue increase to each of them. “What it [cost of service study] tries to do is allocate to each of those six or seven rate classes the appropriate amount of increase so that each rate class is paying their fair share.” Some larger classes will be paying closer to a 5.5% rate, while smaller classes will only be paying a 2.7% rate. Each percentage is balanced accordingly to offer affordable rates to everyone, but that’s not the reason the KPUD is calling this a ‘revenue increase’ rather than a ‘rate increase.’ “We don’t make money— there’s no profit, there are no shareholders,” Smith shared. “You have to balance how much comes in on your revenues and how much gets spent on your expenses.” The KPUD has a set amount of money that they require to pay salaries, pay for materials, and pay for everything needed to run a company. “The revenue goes to pay for those costs without a doubt, but there is no profit made and there are no bonuses paid for individuals,” he clarified. “So, when we’re doing a rate increase, we’re covering our costs.” The reason there is an increase in costs to be covered by the KPUD leads back to Washington State legislation. “Environmental legislation from Olympia reduced carbon foot-
See KPUD page A8
A group of 13 Democrats in the Washington Legislature have introduced a bill aimed at corralling the state’s sheriffs. House Bill 2027 begins with a statement of purpose: “The legislature finds that to further enhance accountability, promote public trust and confidence in law enforcement, and increase community safety, sheriffs, whether elected or appointed, police chiefs, marshals, and reserve officers must meet the same standards for background checks, certification, training, and other provisions of chapter 43.101 RCW as are required for all other peace officers. “As a condition of employment,” the bill then adds, “all Washington police officers, including sheriffs, marshals, police chiefs, and reserve officers, and all corrections officers, are required to obtain certification and maintain certification as required by this chapter and the rules of the commission.” The commission in question is a state body. The bill states that all police officers—including sheriffs—would have to submit to a background investigation conducted by the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC), a state-appointed group. Besides typical background inquiries, this one would review all police officers’ social media accounts and a psychological examination conducted by a psychiatrist. The commission would have the power to establish standards for the background investigation at
whim. Candidates’ fingerprints would be collected by the Washington State Patrol and forwarded to the FBI. The bill also would give the CJTC the power to disqualify a candidate from running for sheriff and decertify any sheriff at any time. The commission’s license to make such determinations would be self-established criteria that occupy several pages of the 28page original proposed bill. “Prior to authorizing a candidate for sheriff to appear on the ballot,” the bill states, “the county auditor must have received verification from the commission that the candidate or appointee met the state’s standards, and such verification must be open for public inspection.” That means voters wouldn’t count. The commission would be the sole determiner of whether or not a sheriff keeps his job. Predictably, the Washington State Sheriff’s Association (WSSA) takes exception to the proposed bill. “We believe these proposals are undemocratic and
politically dangerous, and they represent an unnecessary state seizure of local control,” the organization opined in a recent statement. “Our state constitution lays out how voters may recall elected officials, including sheriffs, and voters have used that option, both historically and recently. Giving a governor-appointed state commission the power to override elections defies constitutional norms. “If it weren’t unconstitutional, HB2027 would still be politically dangerous. The standards for both CJTC’s background and ‘decertification’ investigations of Sheriffs are perilously subjective. Any Sheriff could be disqualified from running, or their election immediately invalidated, if CJTC commissioners believed they detected any conduct or pattern of conduct that “fails to meet the ethical and professional standards required of a peace officer.” But the law doesn’t say what those ‘professional and ethical standards’ are; the members of the CJTC would
See Bill page A8
Legislature to decide on high-speed pursuits MARY MURPHY WASHINGTON STATE JOURNAL
A citizen initiative aimed at giving police wider discretion on when they engage in high-speed pursuits was forwarded to the Washington State Legislature on Jan. 11. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs notified the Legislature that petitions for Initiative 2113 met all legal requirements. Initiative 2113 backers want to amend a law on police pursuit that passed in 2021, which requires officers to have “proba-
ble cause” instead of “reasonable suspicion” to engage in pursuits. Critics say that measure hinders law enforcement officers who want to pursue possible lawbreakers. Backers say high-speed chases can turn deadly and that less dangerous methods can be employed to bring people to justice. To be verified, a Washington State initiative requires 324,516 signatures. If this bar is met, a random sample of collected signatures is verified. Now that signatures are verified, the Legislature can take three possible courses of action.
The Legislature can either adopt the initiative as proposed or refuse to act. If it is not adopted, the initiative must be placed on the ballot in the next general election. The Legislature could also propose a different measure dealing with the same subject. In that case, both measures must be placed on the ballot. Expanding police powers and providing more money for law enforcement is a strong theme in this year’s Legislature. The police pursuit initiative is one of six submitted to the Secre-
See Police page A8
TIMBERWOLF TIMES
BACK IN PRINT: The cover of the first new issue of the Timberwolf Times, school newspaper of Goldendale High School.
The revival of the GHS newspaper GRACE BLAND FOR THE SENTINEL It’s been nearly seven years since Goldendale High School released a school newspaper, with the last publication going back to 2017. One teacher took notice of the absence of the newspaper and immediately got to work to revive the program. Now, as of this school year, it’s thanks to a passionate Timothy Lucas that the high school has a new program encouraging kids to explore their writing abilities. “I just feel that kids should have a voice,” Lucas shared can-
didly. “I know a lot of times they don’t feel like they have any say, and newspapers are a vehicle for that expression.” The creativity of the students coupled with Lucas’ experience, looks to be a promising recipe for a good school newspaper—and according to Lucas, there are more positive changes to come for student publications. Lucas has a professional background coated in journalistic experience. He began as a military photojournalist, serving for 21 years before moving on to work with the La Grande Observer
See GHS page A8
A SENTINEL PUBLICATION
PERFECT NEW YEAR’S GIFT: The new Klickitat County calendar for 2024 is still available at The Sentinel office, Goldendale Pharmacy, Holcomb’s, and Allyn’s. Price is $8, including tax.