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Show Page 6 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume II, Issue V February 2000 Davis Officials Defend Attendance at Meetings By Bryon Saxton by conflicting committee assignments The Weber County Commission is challenging claims that the Davis County Commission has “nearly perfect” attendance at its meetings. But according to Davis Commissioners, that was indeed the case in 1999, with the exception of vacation, illness or conflicting meetings. These are the same reasons Weber commissioners give for their absences. In a January 10 letter to the Standard-Examiner, the Weber commissioners took exception to a December 22 front page news article, headlined “Commissioners often absent from meetings.” The Weber Commissioners claim the article seemed to be an attempt to discredit their hard work and dedication and implied they should take a lesson from Davis County, where the commission had nearly perfect meeting attendance. “The public records show differently,” the letter signed by the three Weber commissioners read. “Davis County held 82 meetings in 1999 and had a commissioner absent in 38 of those meetings. Weber County held 81 meetings and had a commissioner absent 22 times.” Davis commissioners said their missed meetings resulted from conflicting meetings, vacation and illness. Dan McConkie, the Davis commission chairman, missed 17 meetings. He said most of them were because he is chairman of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, a member of the Utah Association of Counties Board of Directors, and former president of the State Retirement Board. “Sometimes you just can’t help it,” McConkie said of missing commission meetings scheduled in conflict with other board meetings. Commissioner Carol R. Page’s attendance records were also affected and some back surgery, which caused her to miss seven consecutive meetings. With 82 committee assignments, Page also had her share of other meetings to make, including state assignments with Safe Home/Safe Schools, the State Juvenile Board and the State’s Children Justice Center. “This isn’t a 40-hour-a-week job,” she said. In March, Page missed five meetings, two a result of the National Association of Counties Conference, a meeting with Gov. Mike Leavitt, a United Way meeting, and a Mental Health Conference in Atlanta, Ga. Commissioner Gayle Stevenson in 1999 missed three of 82 meetings, once when he was ill, the other two when he went on a vacation to Hawaii. The philosophy of the commissioners, Stevenson said, is to be where they can do the most good for constituents. That sometimes includes missing commission meetings with “routine agendas” in favor of other meetings that may have more impact on their constituents. “They should be exonerated from any criticism leveled at them,” Stevenson said of the Weber County Commission, which he believes is “very responsible” to its constituents. Weber County Commissioner Glen H. Burton said he believes the Dec. 22 article unfairly compared the two commissions and “drove a wedge” between the commissioners, which have “a great relationship” with one another. “We’re getting put on the hot seat here,” Burton said of the criticism he and his fellow commissioners have received as a result of the article. Burton said Weber commissioners miss commission meetings for the same reasons Davis commissioners miss meetings. Note: This article was provided courtesy of Standard-Examiner. Don’t Leave It to Chance Working Toward Your Financial Goals When it comes to setting financial goals and figuring out how you’re going to reach them, you can’t leave it to chance. By definition, a goal has a deadline and in order to reach it you need a plan—you have to do certain things, in a certain order, by a certain date. Whether your goal is to save enough money to put your children through college, fund a comfortable retirement, or purchase the vacation home you’ve always dreamed of, it will take time and planning to meet these goals. You don’t have time, you say. Besides, you don’t know where to start. Perhaps we can help. Just follow the three steps outlined below: Step 1 — Need Identification List your goals and the time frame in which you wish to reach them. 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March 2: Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy, Whipped Potatoes, Cauliflower, Carrifruit Salad, Peach Bavarian and Cheese Roll. March 9: Turkey Steak with Gravy, Rainbow Pasta, Zucchini and Tomatoes, Pear and Cranberry Salad, Tapioca Pudding and Cranberry Nut Roll. March: 16: Crab Cake with Cocktail Sauce, Augratin Potatoes, Broccoli, Waldorf Fruit Salad, Chocolate Mousse and Potato Roll. |