Articles
Safe Drinking Water in Rural Lancaster County
by Barbara A. Baier, Candidate for Lancaster County Board of Commissioners
II announced my candidacy for the County Board back in February, and ever since, I have received countless phone calls regarding the safety of rural Lancaster County’s drinking water. Emerald, just a few miles west of Lincoln, has had one well after another contaminated. Residents in the northwest quarter of Lancaster County have repeatedly implored the County Board to set some new standards for acreage development that focus on water availability and potability. Longtime residents of 30 years and more are worried that the proliferation of sewage lagoons will contaminate their drinking water.
The all-Republican County Board’s reply is, “Buyer beware!”
What about all those farmers and longtime residents of rural Lancaster County, where do they go for safe drinking?
Safe drinking water issues plague more than northwest Lancaster. Pockets of unsafe or questionable, often smelly water exist throughout the County. Upon further investigation, I discovered that unlike the City of Lincoln, the Lancaster County Board doesn’t have a Clean Water Act plan in place. The standing argument is that the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) doesn’t require it. Interestingly, NDEQ is underfunded and, thus, understaffed by the Governor’s Office and the State Unicameral so there’s no one in the office to require a plan to maintain clean, safe drinking water in Lancaster County.
But that doesn’t mean the County Board can’t engage the public in creating one? Benefits would include public education regarding dumping of chemicals into creeks and streams, establishing local legislation to monitor soil mining operations and the sediment runoff from them that often pollute creeks and streams running right through the City of Lincoln, taking tangible steps to ensure safe drinking water, and more. The frequent safety alerts from area lakes should be an indication that Lancaster County’s water resources are not being appropriately protected.
Safe drinking water is but one environmental issue facing the City of Lincoln and Lancaster County. We need new representation on the Lancaster County Board that understands and embraces the concept of stewardship of our precious environment. It’s our duty to not only protect the present generation from environmental hazards, but also ensure a safe, livable environment for future generations. Most would agree that a livable environment starts with safe drinking water. We need to take our role in maintaining the environment seriously.
I would bring the change that is needed to the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners so environmental issues are no longer brushed aside with comments such as “Buyer beware!”
Vote for Barbara Baier, Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, November 4th!
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Lancaster County Board of Commissioners Fails in Developing Good Public Policy
– Questions regarding construction of a new jail remain unanswered –
by Barbara Baier, Candidate for Lancaster County Board of Commissioners
This spring many in our community have criticized the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners for engaging in poor public policy, particularly as it regards the issue of building a new jail.
Public policy is defined as the rules or a plan adopted by a governmental body to guide their actions. Policies help to make governmental actions fair and consistent. Policies that are equitably implemented help to diminish favoring powerful monied interests that may be motivated more by self-interest than the good of the community.
To develop fair and consistent public policies, a governmental body such as the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners needs to draw upon the expertise of a diversity of community interests. When good governmental policy is pursued, stakeholders with an obvious and just interest in a project or issue are called upon to provide their perspectives to help inform decision-makers regarding best practices in a field and identify possible hidden issues that could impact a project. The hallmark of good governmental policy development includes open meetings, public hearings, and a free give and take of information with the public.
The County Commissioners have engaged in some of the activities that create good public policy regarding the development of a new jail, but when reviewing the entirety of the decision to build a new jail, the public is left with a lot of unanswered questions. Yes, a group of community stakeholders was involved in the planning process, but the most obvious stakeholders – the County Sheriff and City of Lincoln Chief of Police – were omitted from initial planning and added to the second design phase after much public criticism.
Questions remain regarding issuing bonds for up to 25 years to build a new jail:
- What will the ongoing operational costs of the jail be?
- In the terms of dollars and cents, how do these operational costs increase our property taxes on a permanent basis by adding more full-time employees, increasing the price of health care costs among inmates, increasing utility costs, increasing transportation costs, and more?
- Since Community Corrections (Alternatives to Incarceration) are increasingly more effective in reducing and often eliminating recidivism at the County Jail, why hasn’t the County Board seriously considered doubling the budget of this program to get more nonviolent inmates out of jail and on the road to recovery? (Judges want to utilize Community Corrections more, but the County Board continues to limit growth with the excuse that they don’t want new full-time employees – a lame excuse since the Board is fine with increasing the number full-time employees by building a new jail.)
- Since a conservative estimate of 20% of jail inmates in Lancaster County suffer from chronic, untreated mental health issues, why is the Board less than supportive of expanding community-based mental health services targeting frequently incarcerated individuals with mental health issues when the State of Nebraska Region V Systems is offering approximately $1.0 million (annually) to cover the cost?
- Why did the County Board pay many times more for the land at SW 40th and West “O” than the County Assessor valued the land in 2001?
- Why is the public asked to vote on a jail bond issue for $65 million when the conceptual design process resulted in a jail costing $95 million?
And, finally, why is the public told by the County Board it doesn’t matter how you vote? Regardless of the outcome, the County Board will build a jail for $65 million by going to the Public Building Commission because they can issue bonds without your approval. (The Public Building Commission includes representation from both the County Board and the City Council.)
Good public policy would answer these questions. A good public process would consider alternatives to an expensive jail construction project. Many in the community studying the question of a new jail realize that if overcrowding still persists even after increasing the size and funding of Community Corrections, expanding mental health services, and reviewing and possibly increasing access to substance abuse treatment, then we as a community will have to either expand the jail we have to the south (as originally planned when the current jail was built), or consider enhancing security at the Airpark annex facility, which houses nonviolent offenders, to make more room for violent offenders, or construct a smaller, cheaper jail that answers our reduced needs.
Any application of fair and consistent policy development would result in an understanding that it is wiser and cheaper for County government to invest precious taxpayer dollars to increase the programming that reduces recidivism at the County Jail; and not engage in a failed public policy of continuously building new jails and prisons that states as diverse as Kansas, Texas, Michigan and New York have found is draining the public treasury at alarming rates.
Throughout the jail assessment and planning process, we, the public, have witnessed serious lapses in good policy development, omissions of critical stakeholder input, and a general disregard of the public process. These lapses have consistently been the hallmark of my opponent’s approach to public service. A change is needed to bring public accountability and fiscal responsibility back to County government.
Vote for Barbara Baier for Lancaster County Commissioner on May 13th and November 5th to Bring Change to Local Government!
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Common Sense For The
My name is Barbara Baier and I’m running for the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners to bring common sense back to local government. Over the past year, the CountyBoard has developed a $95 million design for a new jail without the involvement of the CountySheriff or Chief of Police.
The Board proceeded to purchase land for a new jail that is located miles away from the CountySheriff and the Lincoln Police Department. With escalating gas prices, transportation to and from the proposed new jail will increase each year.
On a 3 to 2 vote, the Board then placed a bond issue on the May 13th ballot for a $65 million jail with no plan and no preliminary design.
Presently, the Board is busily designed a new jail with no plan on how to fund it. The newspaper indicates the Board anticipates going to the Public Building Commission to issue bonds of up 26 years without voter approval to build a new jail.
A new jail will have plenty of room for more inmates. Some Members of the CountyBoard say this is needed because the present jail and its auxiliary site are overcrowded. But are these sites REALLY overcrowded?
About five years ago, LancasterCounty started Community Corrections, which is our version of Alternatives To Incarceration. Alternatives To Incarceration have been utilized in states as diverse as
I’ve discussed LancasterCounty’s Community Corrections program at length with staff. I’ve discovered that Community Corrections is much more than a monitoring system. The key to its success in reducing recidivism is that staff discuss what led offenders to their involvement with the justice system. They assess the need for drug and alcohol treatment programs, the need for food in the home, the need for health care, the need for mental health services, the need for job training, the need for employment opportunities, and the list goes on. As the needs of offenders are addressed by linking them to appropriate community services, combined with the accountability of electronic monitoring, most offenders regain control over their lives and their futures. Community Corrections is all about re-connecting offenders to the community.
Community Corrections has earned the trust of local judges. More and more nonviolent offenders are being sent to the program. Yet, funding for Community Corrections continues to be minimal. CountyCommissioners often question its usefulness in spite of the fact that it costs around $25 per day to have someone in Community Corrections, compared to $65 per day to be in jail. Community Corrections helps eliminate the revolving door of jail. It is so successful that inmate beds are now open at the AirPark jail location. If the AirPark jail location were made more secure, we probably wouldn’t even need a new jail.
Does the new jail have more to do with building new sewage and water pipelilnes to undeveloped real estate than it does with public safety?
When does the public get all facts on this project?
I’m running for the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners to address these issues and many more, including balancing the needs of urban and rural residents, bringing expertise in health and human services to the Board, and nurturing a climate of open of government, public accountability and fiscal responsibility.
I would appreciate your vote on May 13th and in November. I also need your donations and volunteer help to mount a grassroots county-wide campaign that will educate voters on the issues and create change in local government.
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Bringing Public Accountability Back to CountyGovernment
By Barbara Baier, Candidate for LancasterCounty Board of Commissioners, District #2
Public accountability is fundamental to earning the public’s trust. The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners has consistently ignored the needs of rural LancasterCounty residents, many of which own acreages or live in small communities. My opponent has been a leader in dismissing rural residents concerns regarding water accessibility and quality. Many rural residents have lived in their homes for 10, 20 and even 30 years, and now thanks to the Lancaster County Commissioners, acreage developments continue to be approved with little regard to the impact of a proliferation of wells and sewage lagoons. In December, the CountyCommissioners approved another acreage development even after the Planning Commission recommended the opposite.
Wells are going dry. New wells need to drilled at considerable expense. Leadership is needed to develop equitable, consistent, fair and scientifically based regulations guiding acreage development. The environment is a precious legacy that we, the present generation, have a solemn responsibility to pass on to future generations in a condition that supports a quality life. Wells going dry and degradation of water quality are among the signs that sustainable practices are not guiding acreage development. New leadership is needed on the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners to implement best practices regarding groundwater accessibility and quality to ensure that development is sustainable.
But rural water issues are not the only issues facing the CountyBoard of Commissioners. The Jail Bond, which will be on the May 13th ballot, is a fine example of acting before considering all the facts and variables impacting the construction of a new jail. The Bond issue asks the taxpaying public to approve a $65 million bond with no plan. The CountyBoard of Commissioners has a $95 million plan, but not a $65 million plan. The issue of whether we need a $65 million or $95 million jail has not been investigated or discussed. Nearby states of
LancasterCounty started Community Corrections in 2000 to initiate an alternatives to incarceration program. A variety of programs have been started almost every year since. They include: Court Reminder Program; Community Service Program; Pre-Trail Release;
As Community Corrections has proved itself to be a viable alternative to serving jail time for nonviolent offenders, more and more judges are willing to use it. At this point, Lancaster County Jail’s Airpark location is being emptied. It is entirely possible that our overcrowding issue at the jail is being eliminated. It is entirely possible that we could make the Airpark jail location more secure, opening up jail beds for violent offenders for significantly less than $65 million.
Yet, the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, often led by my opponent, are not waiting to see if Community Corrections is having a substantial enough impact to either lessen or even eliminate the need for a new jail. This is not the hallmark of a fiscally responsible nor publicly accountable Board.
The time has come to have new representation on Lancaster County Board of Commissioners. Vote for Barbara Baier on May 13th, Primary Election, and November 4th, General Election, to bring change to the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners.
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Campaign Kick-off Speech
My name is Barbara Baier, and I am running for the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, District #2.
My platform focuses on equity between urban and rural Lancaster County residents’ needs, heralding in a new era of public accountability to Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, and enhancing the County Commissioners’ awareness and support for health and human services, allowing all residents to work and contribute to the community.
Tonight, I’m going to focus on the lack of public accountability, public involvement and respect for the public political process regarding the upcoming Jail Bond, which through a 3 to 2 vote the Lancaster County Commissioners have decided to place on the May 13th ballot. The bond measure asks that voters to approve a $65 million bond, allowing the Commissioners to increase our property taxes for 20 years to build a new jail. This proposed new $65 million jail has no plan and no design, leaving the taxpayers to scratch their heads as what the money will actually be used for. Over the last year, the Commissioners developed plans for a new $95 million jail, not a $65 million jail. Odd isn’t it? But then it gets better: The County Commissioners didn’t even involve the
A recently released prison and jail study from the nationally respected
Locally, the CountyCommissioners have only just recently increased funding for electronic monitoring, house arrest and other approaches that keep nonviolent offenders out of jail, in their homes, still attending work, and, by the way, paying taxes. The CountyCommissioners don’t know yet if these methods will significantly reduce the jail population like they have in
I’m particularly concerned about the process, or more accurately, the lack of process that the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners has engaged in. Some Commissioners have stated it doesn’t matter if the voters approve the Jail Bond, they can build the jail regardless of taxpayer approval, costing the average homeowner $37.50 a year to build a jail we may not even need! They haven’t explained how much the new jail will cost to operate either. A primary cost in jail operations is providing free healthcare to inmates. As we all know, healthcare costs continue to climb. How will the taxpaying public pay for all this?
I’m running for the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners to bring public accountability, respect for the public decision-making process and fiscal responsibility back to government. I also have placed a high priority on equity between urban and rural resident needs and the county’s need for health and human services. We need a Board of Commissioners that pays attentions to needs -- Needs like a fair and accountable special permitting process that values accessibility to water in rural areas and maintains a decent quality of life, like enhancing access to health and human services, particularly mental health services in core urban neighborhoods, which suffer disproportionably from a lack of access to services, and like fairness in building roads that enhance economic development opportunities to benefit the entire County.
For too long the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners has been manipulated by my opponent for the benefit of the “good ole boys.” It’s time the Board of Commissioners addresses the needs of ALL of LancasterCounty’s residents and not just small special interest groups.
Remember: Vote for Barbara Baier for CountyCommissioner in the May and November elections!
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Rural Platform
My name is Barbara Baier, and I am running for Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, District #2.
Among my campaign priorities are to bring equity between urban and rural resident needs. By this, I mean the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners needs greater insight into environmental issues, including the impact of approving acreage developments without closely looking at their effect upon water resources and water quality issues, the effects of special permitting with little or no accountability or follow-up, and the overriding need to be good stewards of the land.
To understand what I will bring to the Board of Commissioners, I think you need to get to know who I am. I was born and raised on a small dairy farm near
Then I grew up and moved to
I am well aware what careless development can do agriculture, the land and the quality of country living. I fully support the dream of “owning a place in the country.” I just think it’s important that we do not let that dream turn into a nightmare.
My opponent has served on the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners for 21 years. His leadership and votes present a well-established record of little or no commitment to land stewardship or understanding what taking care of the environment for future generations means.
The issues facing rural LancasterCounty residents are many. Water availability and quality are among them. Others include concerns regarding road maintenance, drainage issues and urban sprawl.
With your support, I will be elected to the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners. I will bring change to the Board. I will bring a sincere commitment to land stewardship and upholding the quality of rural life.
Vote for me, Barbara Baier, in the May Primary and November General elections for Lancaster County Board of Commissioners.
Why Change Is Needed on the LancasterCounty Board of Commissioners
Barb Baier Announces Her Campaign for CountyCommissioner
My name is Barbara Baier. I’m running for Lancaster County Commissioner, representing District 2, which is essentially northwest Lincoln and LancasterCounty.
My platform is emphasizes EQUITY between urban and rural needs, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY, and an awareness of the IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES to QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES.
I bring 20 years of experience creating, administering and funding innovative Health & Human Services programs, as well as experience serving as an elected official on the Lincoln Board of Education.
The CountyCommissioners lack a representative with a Health & Human Services background. Yet, they control the budgets for CommunityMentalHealthCenter, the Crisis Center, Lancaster Manor, General Assistance, the Health Department and more. Meeting the fundamental Health & Human Services needs of our residents is directly connected to the number of people entering, staying and returning to the CountyJail. Nearly 20% of CountyJail inmates have mental health issues. Often, they find themselves in jail due to the inability to access the services and care that would allow them to live in the general community. By default, the CountyJail becomes the expensive, inappropriate setting to house individuals with unmet mental health needs. Their correctional experience becomes a depressing revolving door in and out of jail, costing the taxpayers plenty, while creating individual human tragedies.
LancasterCounty’s Jail is out of compliance with Nebraska Jail Standards. It’s too crowded. That’s a fact. Yet, it’s only recently and after significant public pressure that the CountyCommissioners have considered expanding its Community Corrections Program – electronic monitoring, house arrest, pre-trail diversion. Many offenses revolve around DUIs. Offenders and the community would be better served having them address their alcohol and drug problems, keep their jobs and pay taxes, than become tax burdens. There are a host of offenses, including delinquent child support, petty theft, and more, that are really economic crimes caused more by poverty than malicious intent. Have the CountyCommissioners explored every avenue, every Federal grant or program intended to solve these issues and reduce incarceration rates? No.
The time has come to talk about Health & Human Services, the CountyCommissioners’ role in providing these services, and the present lack of leadership regarding these issues.
As CountyCommissioner, I will make Health & Human Services a priority. I will bring compassionate, cost-effective, publicly accountable leadership to the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners.
I believe term limits are best when they come from a vote of the people. My opponent has been on the CountyBoard of Commissioners for 21 years. Change is needed. The good ole boys need to go!
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