I was not contacted by Reporter Sierra with OPB for the article that was recently released; however, if I was, here's a few key points I would have made:

 

• I am FULLY supportive of a new police station. I've stated so numerous times and my thoughts are readily available from public meeting recordings on this issue. I simply believe that a city serving 7,755 people (including the inmates) with a budget for the city that’s nearly as large as the entire county’s budget (24-25) could prioritize its own police station construction without asking voters for more tax funds. 

• The March 2024 meeting of the City Council is very relevant to this article. Earlier in the discussion, City Manager Stockdale shared that the City staff were not recommending a General Obligation Bond or a tax levy and were instead looking at a full faith and credit bond. 

• My statement in March is directly available here. I clearly stated:

"I think it's great. I definitely want to reinforce that I personally believe that we need to maintain this is not going to be a general obligation bond on our community, especially when we have a budget of $120 million like last year. If we continue to have those types of numbers we cannot put this on the voters. We cannot put this on the brunt of our community. That is a critical and pivotal thing when we have budgets like we do and we're doing large events like Rock the Locks and other big, large, flashy things. We need to make sure that we're holding up to our side of the bargain and we're providing public services first, fun things second."

• By that summer, staff were suddenly talking about a bond to the voters for the police bond but it wasn't coming up at public meetings. Because of this, I shared my concerns privately with City Manager Stockdale in a meeting with just he and I. I shared my concerns for why I thought the City of Umatilla needed to build trust, demonstrate fiscal responsibility and finish some of the projects the City had started before asking taxpayers to pay for a bond.  I also gave him a document where I'd searched the newspapers and pulled the various articles talking about all the things the City had told the voters they had in the works- many of them were still unfinished or abandoned. The document I shared with City Manager Stockdale from the newspaper articles is here.

• Around this time, Enterprise Zone discussions were underway. While the OPB article suggests this could be a Sipe family, school or fire issue, it's important to consider this City council meeting where representatives from nearly every taxing district impacted by the Enterprise Zone agreements spoke. 

• Watch the public input from January of 2025 and you'll hear both of my parents. You'll also hear from the Fire District, the Hospital District, School Board members, the Radio District, the ESD, the Community College and more. It's not just a Sipe issue, it's a community issue. I'm proud of my parents for standing up for the community and I know they're proud of me for doing the same. The Sipe family are not alone in our personal concerns regarding Enterprise Zone distributions. 

• My personal belief is that the Enterprise Zone funds are a blessing to our community right now, but they won't be here forever. I just want to be sure we're spending them wisely and in ways that represent ALL in our community. 

 

Sadly, the legal ends of this will play out in court. I didn't file because I was "frustrated with perceived disrespect," I filed because my right to free speech was not honored by our council and I was not given due process before I was censured and sanctioned. 

 

The community pieces of this play out in our council chambers every other Tuesday. While I’m continuing to advocate for improved audio/video to watch online, being there in person is an option for all as well. I'm not trying to be difficult, but I am trying to be sure our staff and our council (including myself) are good stewards of taxpayer funds, that we're transparent, that we have published minutes and improved sound/video quality and that we're following our charter as well as state and Federal law. 

 

I was elected to lead and I'm doing my best. My free speech matters, but so does yours. I won't always agree with you and you won't always agree with me, but I won't pull my opinion of you based on headlines, and I don't think you will form your full thoughts of me based on a headline either. 

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Caden Sipe

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Statements shared here are personal opinions and are not intended to represent the City of Umatilla