A Reader Grasses on the Florence Tree Commission

A Florence reader has sent us some interesting info and links concerning the Florence Tree Commission. We're not going to list all his concerns here, but some of the major points that city residents should be concerned about are:

1. How many serve on the Tree Commission? The official city page states seven, but there are 11 members listed on its Facebook page. At least four of these members are officially tied to the city, while at least some of the remaining members have superficial connections to city government. Two are from the same household. Is this ethical?

2. President - Jackie Hendrix. Mr. Hendrix is also District 2 representative and the head of the Park/Recreation Foundation which he founded.

3. Vice President - Bill Jordan. Mr. Jordan is a city department head over Parks & Recreation and the son of former District 2 representative Dick Jordan. His department benefits directly from Hendrix's foundation.

4. Treasurer - Debra Anne Dombrowski Rynes Kreuzer Hendrix. Mrs. Hendrix is currently married to the commission president and keeps a record of its finances and bank account(s). She is also the official photographer for commission functions, ostensibly controlling what's published.

5. Administrator - Martha Murphy. Mrs. Murphy is the assistant to the Florence City Council and handles some of the donations to the commission.

6. Secretary - Joe McPhail. Mr. McPhail retired from Florence Utilities on August 2nd. Why wouldn't the administrator handle these duties as well?

7. Advisors - At least five members are listed as advisors. Doesn't the state extension service fulfill at least part of these services without charge?

8. Does so much money go through the commission that it takes both a treasurer and an administrator to handle it? Part of these commission funds involve donations to Memorial Grove Park which we'll cover in a later blog.

9. Only one official event is listed for the commission each year - a tree workshop held each February. Yet it also co-hosts an annual horticulture conference, expos where local businesses pay to set up booths selling their products, and various annual ceremonies. How much money does that bring in and where does it go?

It's possible that all city boards need to be audited. We recommend placing this one at the top of the list.