||| BY MATTHEW GILBERT, theORCASONIAN OP-ED REPORTER |||
Last month, the Charter Review Committee released the outcomes of its lengthy deliberations, and among its proposed amendments was an independently-elected position to run a new Climate and Environment Office while adding an advisory “commission” – a group with more influence than the advisory committees that currently feed citizen input back to the county. That suggestion got the attention of the County Council, which last week came up with its own plan to address issues of climate change and environmental impacts that would keep accountability and funding decisions inside county control while also boosting resources and capacity.
More specifically, County Manager Mike Thomas and Environmental Resources Manager Kendra Smith proposed the following (see the full presentation here):
- Elevate the Environmental Resources Division (still housed in Public Works – Roads) to an independent department (name TBD) and appoint a director.
- Direct the new department to hire an environmental inspector, replacing an existing but recently vacated position (already in the budget).
- Direct the new department to hire a near-FTE “Climate & Sustainability Coordinator,” paid for with general funds and other available monies.
- Direct the Department of Community Development to hire an Environmental Planner to replace a former long-range manager position.
- Establish a new Climate and Sustainability Advisory Committee to ensure coordination and communication of actions across other departments and sectors and to feed into existing advisory committees and commissions.
After a brief discussion, the Council unanimously approved the proposal – effective immediately – and named Smith as the new department’s director. The Charter Review Commission can still submit their own ballot amendment language for such an office – as well as other amendments they are proposing. The deadline is August 3.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
I applaud the County Council for their attention to climate change at their June 29th meeting, even though their motion amounts to little more than a shuffling of existing county government. Nevertheless, they did bring climate change to the forefront, and that’s good.
However I am deeply disappointed the Council decided to ignore the work of yet another citizen advisory committee. Eighteen members of the Charter Review Commission were elected in November and have worked at least 10 to 40 hours a week as volunteers for the last six months to write amendments to the county charter. After months of research, study, discussion, and debate the Charter Review Commission wrote an amendment creating a department of Climate and The Environment that they felt would best serve our county for the next 10 years. However, the County Council, in one meeting, in a matter of minutes, disregarded that all that work.
The county needs citizen volunteers for a multitude of tasks. Ignoring their work is not a good way to encourage future citizen involvement.
I am grateful that the Council took action to establish a County department focused on environmental issues by moving the County employees who work on these issues into their own department. I have serious doubts about the Charter Commission’s proposal for an elected “Commissioner” post and additional bureaucracy.