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City manager says outside claims about surety bond are false after public commenters raise concerns
Summary
Public commenters raised concerns about whether the city's surety bond was in place and about contacting private contractors for records. City Manager Bill Reid said CNA Surety told staff that earlier claims were false and urged use of formal public‑records requests; councilors discussed proactive public reporting of bonds, insurance, and audits.
Public commenters raised questions at the Oct. 20 meeting about the city's surety bond and about residents contacting outside contractors for account information.
Mike Shurts, a North Plains resident, said citizens have the right under Oregon public‑records law to investigate city operations and criticized language in a City Manager memo; during public comment he said, "Bill Reid is not your boss." Don Weber, a volunteer on the Parks and Recreation Committee, said he consulted an expert on Urban Renewal Areas and other jurisdictions in researching URA use and defended those outreach efforts.
City Manager Bill Reid told the council he had discussed the matter with CNA Surety’s general counsel after someone named "Linda" contacted the company. According to Reid, CNA told staff that comments made at public comment on Aug. 18 by Linda Galas‑Merten — that the city's surety bond "wasn't in place or hadn't been paid" — were false. Reid said that public records requests are the appropriate way for members of the public to obtain city information and expressed concern about private parties being contacted directly for account details.
Council President Aaron Dumbrow said the surety bond is redundant to the city's existing coverage and that council had no concerns about City Manager Reid or staff. Councilor Katie Reding suggested creating an annual public administrative compliance report that would proactively publish information about bonds, insurance, and audits to reduce ad hoc inquiries. The council did not take formal action on the matter at the meeting.
