County officials look at restructuring

More than a decade after Spokane County rejected a new style of government, county commissioners say it might be time to try again.

But their new effort isn’t about combining the city and county, like the attempt that plunged to defeat in 1995.

Commissioners say power is too diluted among commissioners and other elected county administrators: the assessor, auditor, clerk, sheriff and treasurer. They also say it might be time to explore electing a CEO who would perform the same kind of executive duties that a strong mayor does for a city.

“The problem is it becomes extremely disjointed and the public becomes frustrated,” said Commissioner Todd Mielke, who has led the debate.

Commissioners want state lawmakers to make it easier to change their form of government in ways that could eliminate – or add – elected offices. County leaders have made the issue one of their top legislative priorities in their 2007 lobbying effort.

Currently, switching to a “charter” form of government from the style mandated in the state constitution requires the freeholder process. In that system, citizens are elected to spend two years crafting a proposal that goes before voters. The process was attempted in Spokane County when freeholders wanted to combine city and county government. The measure was soundly rejected at the polls in 1995.

Critics say using freeholders is unwieldy and usually unsuccessful. Supporters say a lengthy public process should be required for such a change.

Despite the complexity of the freeholder process, more than half the state’s population lives in counties that have successfully adopted charters.

Charter counties have a variety of differences. Most have created an elected executive position and increased the number of commissioners – or council members as they usually are called in a charter government. Pierce County combined its assessor and treasurer offices. Clallam County voters opted to elect their planning and building director, an idea so unique it is thought to be the only elected planning director position in the country, said Bill Vogler, executive director of the Washington State Association of Counties.

Making changes won’t be easy. Both houses of the state Legislature would have to vote with a two-thirds majority to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot statewide and voters would have to approve the idea. Specific reforms to county governments would need voter approval locally.

State Rep. Helen Sommers, D-Seattle, has introduced a resolution that would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. But other lawmakers, including state Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, say while it might have merit, it’s unlikely to go far in 2007.

Steve Lundin, who worked in the state House for nearly 30 years, said making the change would be extremely challenging. He twice drafted constitutional amendments to make it easier to reform county government. They had wide support in the Legislature but were rejected at the polls.

Considering past failures, the Legislature should take its time, Vogler said.

“More thought has to be given to what the citizens want than just what the politicians want,” Vogler said.

Appointed administrators

Mielke suggested it might be better to appoint people to professional administrative positions like auditor or sheriff.

Mike Senske, who was one of 25 freeholders in the Spokane County charter attempt in the 1990s, agrees. An appointment process would ensure administrators are hired “based on their credentials, not based on their popularity.”

Because he was selected to fill a vacancy between elections, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has served as both an appointed and elected sheriff. He says the independence of an elected office is important, but he also believes it might be beneficial to remove the politics that come with being elected.

He pointed to the recent selection of Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick as a model for a public process that resulted in a highly qualified choice.

Mielke said someone with weak credentials could be elected the top law enforcement officer or charged with enforcing complicated tax rules.

Those serving in the elected administrative positions that could be affected by going to a charter, however, warn that being elected gives them a special ability to serve citizens.

Assessor Ralph Baker said he needs independence to prevent commissioners from improperly influencing property values.

“We need to be very careful there because the assessor needs to be able to have a free hand in being fair and impartial,” Baker said.

Baker noted he recently had to decide if the city of Spokane was legally able to continue its attempt to annex county land, a proposal opposed by county commissioners. Baker said if his employment was dependent on commissioners, the county may have tried to affect his ruling.

“I don’t work only for the county,” Baker said. “I work just as much for the city.”

That same issue could apply to county Treasurer Skip Chilberg, who said recently that he’s considering mounting a challenge to a tax proposal that has garnered initial support from two county commissioners.

“No one who is in an appointed position could possibly feel comfortable raising tough questions such as tax-increment financing and others that I will be raising,” Chilberg said.

Mielke said Baker’s decision last week to hire the 23-year-old son of his chief deputy for a management position is just another example of why independence doesn’t ensure good government. The county’s human resources department expressed frustration that the move violated the county’s nepotism policy. But the rule – written by county commissioners – could not be enforced in the assessor’s office. Following public criticism, Baker terminated his new employee after two days.

Since voters have the final say on elected officials, citizens are hesitant to give up that power, said Lundin, who is about to publish a book on local government in Washington.

Although they stress the need for independence, the auditor, assessor, sheriff, treasurer and county clerk say they’d prefer their offices be nonpartisan, like the Spokane City Council.

“Partisan politics has never entered into a single day in the administration of the office,” said County Clerk Tom Fallquist, who has been the clerk since 1982.

Elected top dog?

Commissioners say it can be hard to manage their department leaders because those administrators answer to the three commissioners instead of one boss. They suggest it might be time to consider having an elected CEO, like Snohomish and King counties.

“There’s not one corporation the size of Spokane County that has three CEOs,” said former County Commissioner Kate McCaslin. “You need to have one person in charge.”

Baker questioned whether there’s a need for an elected executive given that the county already has a CEO – albeit, an unelected one.

“That’s to their own making that they’re not relinquishing their executive branch role,” Baker said.

State law allows Spokane County to expand to five commissioners with a public vote without using freeholders, though Lundin said there’s some question if that rule is constitutional.

Spokane County voters defeated a proposal to expand to five members by almost a 2-1 ratio in 1991.

Commissioner Bonnie Mager said expanding to five would provide better voter representation. Leaders have long complained that with just three commissioners they can’t chat with each other about county business unless they hold a public meeting. That’s because state law requires discussions be in public whenever there’s a quorum. Politicians are afraid to give ideas publicly because they might be ridiculed in the press, they argue.

“There are times when good government calls for private discussions,” said Chilberg, who is a former county commissioner. “The three commissioners are hobbled by not being able to talk with each other without being in a public meeting.”

But Baker cautioned that a desire to share information privately should not drive the debate.

“That doesn’t sound right to me,” Baker said. “Are we trying to say we want a government that doesn’t have open meetings?”