Health board may redo vote rule

Appointed members of the Spokane Regional Health District board could soon have the power to vote.

The Spokane County Commission will consider a resolution at a meeting this afternoon that would reverse a decision it made in 2003 to take away the voting authority of the appointed health board members.

The health board includes city and county elected officials and three seats appointed by the County Commission.

Dr. Charles Wolfe, who was named to the board in 1999, said the appointed members provide an important voice because they often have medical experience.

“We can be more independent in our opinions than if we were depending on being re-elected,” said Wolfe, a semi-retired doctor of occupational medicine and toxicology.

Former Commissioner Kate McCaslin, who voted for the 2003 change, said that because the health board makes decisions that seriously affect lives and livelihoods, voting members should have a direct link to the electorate.

“It was all about an issue of accountability to me,” McCaslin said.

Besides the three appointed seats, the health board includes three county commissioners, three Spokane City Council members, two Spokane Valley City Council members and one Liberty Lake City Council member.

Dr. Kim Thorburn, the district’s director, strongly criticized the 2003 decision.

In a letter to commissioners at the time, she wrote that the appointed members had better attendance, accepted more time commitments and brought expertise to the board.

“By any measure, they have been among our best members,” she wrote.

Health district spokeswoman Julie Graham said Monday that Thorburn supports reinstating the votes of appointed members.

Commissioner Phil Harris sided with McCaslin on the issue in 2003. He said Monday, however, that he supports reinstating their voting authority.

If board members want citizen input, “let our citizen members have a vote,” he said.