From the San Juan County Charter Review Commission
The next meeting of the San Juan County Charter Review Commission (CRC) is on Saturday March 17th at the San Juan Grange from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with a break for lunch). Public input is welcomed and there is time set aside to hear your comments at 8 a.m., again at 12 p.m. (after lunch).
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 March 10th meeting on Lopez, the CRC heard presentations from County Council member Jamie Stephens, former County Council member and County Commissioner Bob Myhr and from former County Commissioner Rhea Miller.
Mr. Myhr spoke about an inconsistency between the stated purpose of asserting greater citizen control in the charter’s preamble and the actual effect of the charter. He identified areas of the charter that he felt had merit but needed some adjustment. These included having a professional administrator, the hearing examiner, the charter’s budgetary process, the Citizens’ Salary Commission, the Charter Review process, and initiative and referendum.
He encouraged the CRC to examine these aspects to see if they can be improved. For example, he could see some situations in which government could be brought back to the people by having the council hear appeals of some hearing examiner decisions. Mr. Myhr expressed his support for a three-member commission and strong support for countywide elections. He spoke about the separation of powers set forth in the charter. In his opinion, such a separation has never actually been possible under the charter. He noted that the charter could maintain a separate executive branch if it was made up of the independently elected Assessor, Auditor and Treasurer, and he encouraged the CRC to consider returning the administrative function of the county to the elected council members.
Mr. Myhr spoke in favor of returning to partisan elections, particularly in light of our top-two primary system. According to Mr. Myhr one of the advantages of being a home rule county is that our council is not required to hold all of its meetings in the county seat and he encouraged the CRC to consider requiring the council to move its meetings around the county.
Ms. Miller spoke from her experience as a County Commissioner elected in countywide elections. She expressed concern about how the charter has allowed districts to be marginalized, using examples from Lopez including the licensing of the local radio station and the issues of solid waste. Ms. Miller spoke about how full-time commissioners elected countywide have more clout in Olympia and on state and regional boards.
She encouraged the CRC to take that kind of power back for San Juan County by returning to full-time commissioners that could be held accountable by the people to represent them in Olympia. Ms. Miller expressed her support for partisan elections, stating that the party preferences provide a powerful vetting tool in countywide elections. She reminded that CRC that there is nothing more powerful than a community discovering what it cares about.
Mr. Stephens spoke about disconnect between what the charter says the council is responsible for and what the community and their constituents expect them to be capable of. He noted that while the charter restricts the council to policy matters, their constituents expect each Council member to be responsible for everything that the county does. He feels that the current role of the Council is both policy and coordination.
Mr. Stephens expressed strong support for countywide elections. He also expressed support for full-time council positions, saying that part-time positions can be elitist and restrict the positions to those that can afford to be paid part-time for full-time work. Mr. Stephens noted the importance of a county administrator as part of the institutional memory of the county that allows for smoother transitions after elections. He talked about the role of subcommittees in allowing the council to work directly with county staff and an expectation that a similar type of collaboration could be created under a council liaison system if the strict separation of powers were relaxed or removed.
During their working session the CRC agreed by majority vote to recommend that the voters remove the separation of power language from the charter and return administrative authority to the County Commission. They agreed in the discussion that this would not remove the role of an administrator, but that it would allow the elected County Council more flexibility in future decisions about the role of an administrator. The CRC then discussed, but did not adopt, language that would define how the Council members or Commissioners could direct the county staff.
The working model of the CRC includes a three-member full-time commission with legislative and administrative authority, countywide 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. Findings supporting the working-model are available at the CRC website (www.sanjuanco.com/committees/charterreview).
The schedule of meetings through March can be found at the CRC website. The March 17th meeting will be at the San Juan Grange from 8am to 2pm. 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 (e-mails sent to crc@sanjuanco.com will be received by all of the CRC members).
As a relative newcomer to Orcas, I am horrified at the counsel being given to the CRC. I say this from the perspective of having worked for 20 years in a “county manager” style of local county government, serving both the County Board (legislative) and the County Manager (executive). This, in a county with a hundred-fold population, budget and staff of San Juan County.
They do it with five part-time Board members and a clearly defined separation of powers. AND, they enjoy a top rating and reputation from the National Association of Counties.
Please, do not remove the separation of powers but rather strengthen it. Please do not revert back to full-time “professional” legislators. Please do not reduce our elected representatives to only three. Please do not regress just because you did not get it all correct the first time.
As a member of the Charter Review Commission who strongly disagrees with the majority decisions made during the second week of meetings (when I was out sick) I share Nelson’s upset. The CRC passed motions to eliminate major Charter provisions with absolutely no research, evidence, interviews, or consideration beyond personal opinions. I hope Mr. Rios will express his views at a CRC meeting (we meet on Orcas March 31st) or in writing.
Actually, we meet on Orcas next Saturday, the 24th, at the Orcas Hotel. We are back on San Juan Island on the 31st. We welcome public comment from all, on any pertinent topic. Public comment periods are at 8 a.m. and noon at each of our meetings.
Thanks so much to Madrona for the correction. The schedule was changed.
Janice:
I would love to address comments to the CRC on March 31, based on my 20 year experience with a county manager form of county government. Regrettably, I am on the East coast and will not return to Orcas until early April. Assuming opportunities thereafter, I intend to participate in the considerations of the CRC.
In the interim, I will continue to post comments. I hope they may encourage other citizens to voice their own opinions and to counsel the CRC to move proactively forward and not backwards with respect to the Charter.
In that regard, salaries paid to elected and appointed officials, including school officials, may benefit from closer scrutiny to assure there is parity and pay commensurate with the size and obligations of governance in a jurisdiction with a relatively small population base.
Janice – I am Moana, not Madrona, and the schedule did not change. Long day, long meeting.
Nelson – The Charter has no bearing on school officials or appointed officials. The Citizen Salary Commission created by the Charter sets salaries for elected County officials only. You can read the Charter, and records of the Charter Review Commission’s work, on the County website: https://sanjuanco.com/committees/charterreview/
You are welcome to share your comments with us. We will be on Orcas March 24, April 14 and May 5.
Moana, my apologies for the name confusion. Regarding the dates, I had a schedule with different dates than most recently distributed. Thanks for your comments to Nelson to clarify the charter’s jurisdiction. You are right on every count (including the long day). To Nelson, please DO keep watching the Charter Review Commission and let us know your thoughts. I agree completely regarding the inadvisability of going back to three full-time commissioners. I am glad the BOCC is gone and I hope the voters will not choose to revive it.
Moana:
Thanks for the meeting dates and info on salary jurisdiction. To be clear, it was not my intent to suggest that the CRC initiate a salary review process. Rather, my suggestion is that all salaries paid from public funds should be reviewed and reported on, to assure that the rate of compensation is commensurate with the scope of responsibilities, regardless of where that authority rests. Otherwise, this subject is open to rank speculation and misinterpretation by citizens/taxpayers who are not better informed.
Thanks again. I hope to attend the April 14 meeting.