September October 2017

5 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org From the Chairman I f you have been following my bi-monthly installments you know that I sold my business interests at the end of 2015 to long-term employees. However, I kept a small space at the office to finalize some projects and hopefully ease the transition for old clients and the new owners. Recently, I closed out this space and brought ev- erything home. It’s amazing how much stuff one accumulates over 30 years. Several boxes of material, mostly person- al items including pictures of my family, hats from clients, scales from title com- panies, and coffee mugs from vendors, to mention a few. The Certificates I ac- cumulated over time is also somewhat extensive. One however stood out above the rest. I had probably looked at it ev- ery day that I had come to work as it was on the wall of our conference room, but I hadn’t really read it in decades. It is the document issued to me back in 1994 that stated I had been registered as a “Professional Land Surveyor” and as such was “authorized to practice Land Surveying in Oregon, in accordance with the Laws of Oregon.” It’s a very simple statement, but if you start thinking about the meaning, it is a powerful declaration. It covers a lot of territory and requires us to know and understand, the Oregon Revised Statues (ORS), OregonAdministrative Rules (OAR), local and regional codes, as well as court and land use cases, and so on. This is a lot of information to recognize and as- similate. Obviously, there is not enough room or time to discuss everything, but I want to focus on one particular portion of laws that affect us. This is Division 20, Rules of Professional Conduct. The following discourse represents some of my thoughts pertaining to these rules of conduct. First, we (registrants) shall at all times recognize our primary obligation is to protect the safety, health, property, and welfare of the public. Sometimes, this maymean that I losemoney on a project. Other times, I have had to give my client bad news. When performing boundary surveys, we generally only have one cli- ent, however one boundary line always affects a minimum of two properties. The boundary must be resolved to the best of our ability, objectively, and with- out prejudice. Second, wemust disclose all knownor po- tential conflicts of interest. As Imentioned above, generally we only have one client per project. If you must have more than one person as your client on a project, proceed very carefully and keep every- one in the “loop.” Good communication is key. In one instance, I had a client (#1) with whomwe had done many projects over the years. My partner had another client (#2) and our firmhad worked with him on several jobs. Eventually the two gentlemen in question had projects with abutting properties where they were at odds. Client #2 asked me to testify at a public hearing regarding the project. We spoke with both individuals and let them know that we felt it would be a conflict of interest to testify in this matter. I had a strong feeling that it would be difficult for me to be unbiased in this situation. Unfortunately, Client #2 chose to ter- minate the use of our services. While it cost us money, I still feel the right deci- sion was made. Third, we shall not reveal facts, data, or information obtained in a profession- al capacity without the prior consent of the client, or employer or as authorized or required by law. In my professional working career, almost all land develop- ment projects were sensitive. You must be extremely careful not to divulge in- formation. When in doubt, it is best to say nothing. Fourth, registrants shall continue their professional development throughout their careers. This has been discussed in prior articles and here it is in our Rules of Conduct. This just scratches the surface of our Rules of Professional Conduct. Each of us should be familiar with these rules and always remember that we are licensed by the State and protecting the Public is our primary obligation. Beyond these codified rules each of us should strive to always take the “High Road”. While it may not seem easy at the time, my ex- perience is that it pays dividends in the long run, especially if your survey ends up being contested in court. If we do not understand this responsibility and hon- or this commitment, we are not, nor do we deserve the title of a Professional. I would like to switch to a different sub- ject. This is the time of year where most Chapters nominate and elect new offi- cers. It also seems to be the time of year where folks skip Chapter meetings for fear of being “elected.” However, please consider volunteering for a position in your local Chapter if you are able. It re- ally isn’t that difficult and you are just dealing with a bunch of fellow survey- ors. It has afforded me the opportunity to interact and get to know other survey- ors from around the state. I guarantee you will get more out of the experience than you put into it. After all, it is your organization. We shall, at all times, recognize our primary obligation is to protect the safety, health, property, and welfare of the public.