Charter Review Commission Hears from Clallam County

From the Charter Review Commission Outreach Committee

The next meeting of the San Juan County Charter Review Commission (CRC) is on Saturday March 3^rd at the Orcas Hotel from 7:30 am to 3pm (with a break for lunch).  Public input is welcomed and there is time set aside to hear your comments at 8:00 am again at 12pm (after lunch).  At this meeting the CRC will be discussing the Citizens Salary Commission (which currently sets salaries for elected county officials) and the size of the County Council.

The CRC is charged with reviewing the Charter “to determine its adequacy and suitability to the needs of the County.”  Changes that they propose will be put on the ballot for the public to vote on in November.

At their last meeting the CRC heard presentations from former San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming, former San Juan County director of administrative services Dave Zeretzke and Clallam County Commissioner and former Clallam County freeholder Mike Doherty (via speaker-phone).

Mr. Cumming spoke in favor of a 3-member council, noting that decisions could be made more efficiently. He would prefer to see a more independent administrator than is possible under the current charter. He also expressed concern about the Citizens Salary Commission and suggested that elected officials salaries could be set by formula based on the salaries of the staff they supervise.

Mr. Zeretzke spoke in favor of having experienced administrative staff to support the council and in favor of countywide elections. He noted that partisan elections offer a base of support for candidates but, in his experience, do not impede effective collaboration once candidates are elected. He also spoke in support of a 3-member council.

Commissioner Doherty provided background on the charter process in Clallam County, which is the state’s 2^nd oldest home rule county. He spoke in support of system where the County Commissioners are engaged in the administration of the county. In Clallam County each county department is assigned a County Commissioner as liaison.  He spoke about the charter review process and the kind of changes that are proposed each time, such as making more positions partisan or non-partisan (currently all positions in Clallam County are non-partisan except the Prosecuting Attorney and the Commissioners). He spoke in favor of the Commissioner system, noting that it is the longest-standing form of county government.

Lovell Pratt also addressed the CRC and spoke in favor of an odd-numbered council. She expressed concern about the current reliance on subcommittees. In response to a question about the value of subcommittees for brainstorming and refining ideas, Ms. Pratt encouraged Council members to take advantage of their ability to brainstorm and discuss ideas with their constituents and members of the public rather than depend on subcommittee meetings. She identified initiative, referendum, mini-initiative and charter review processes as some of the biggest pluses of the charter and suggested the CRC make minor adjustments to these processes to make them even more effective and accessible. She encouraged the CRC to carefully consider the implementation of any new changes to county government to ensure that all changes be implemented at the same time.

The working model of the CRC includes a three-member full-time council, countywide elections, non-partisan elections and maintains the powers of initiative, referendum and mini-initiative. At upcoming meetings they will address the potential consolidation of departments, whether any currently elected positions should be made appointed, the Citizens Salary Commission, the role of the county administrator and the separation of power between the Administrator and the Council.

The schedule of meetings through March can be found at the CRC website (www.sanjuanco.com/committees/charterreview). The March 10^th meeting will be at Grace Episcopal Church in Lopez village from 8:30am to 2pm.  County Council member Jamie Stephens, former County Council member and Commissioner Bob Myhr and former County Commissioner Rhea Miller will address the CRC at that meeting.  You can also find documents relevant to the Charter review process on the CRC website.  The CRC encourages members of the public to attend their meetings and to contact any member of the Commission to voice their opinions (contact information is also available at the website).