Lewis County Commissioners Bobby Jackson, Edna Fund and Gary Stamper listen as the blue ribbon task force they appointed presents its formal recommendation of hiring a county manager in this July 2017 file photo. The task force advised the commissioners to hire a manager by the start of 2018.
The Board of Lewis County Commissioners made progress Tuesday on drafting their election policy for freeholders — 15 county residents who will have the opportunity to register to be elected in November to help draft a Lewis County constitution.
While the freeholders will operate independently of the county commission, the commissioners are required by the state constitution to draft a policy for their election. They are also required to determine whether freeholders will be elected based on legislative or existing commissioner districts.
The commission will schedule a hearing on the draft nomination procedure before it is approved.
On Tuesday, they agreed to add a $100 filing fee for freeholders.
“We just want to make sure we get serious people involved in this,” Commissioner Bobby Jackson said.
The commissioners have asked about a number of other additions to their freeholder policy not explicitly outlined in the state constitution, including term limits and pay.
Civil deputy prosecutor Eric Eisenberg advised the commissioners Tuesday that they cannot set term limits for freeholders. According to the state constitution, their term is up when they finish the county charter.
“Although you don’t know the end date there is an end date,” he said. “You would not be able to specify what the constitution does not.”
The commissioners agreed to provide mileage once a freeholder is elected.
The freeholder elections are part of a broad home rule charter process initiated by One Lewis County, a political action group founded by the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce. The chamber's platform calls for the creation of a county manager or executive position that is codified in the county's charter. They are also seeking the expansion of the commission from three to five members who would work on a part-time basis, similar to the governments of Centralia and Chehalis. The commissioners currently each absorb more than $100,000 in salaries and benefits each year. Their reasons for pursuing the charter include perceived poor fiscal management and a lack of leadership and continued lawsuits, among other issues.
The group learned earlier this month that it collected enough signatures on a petition to get the freeholder positions and an approval for freeholders to begin their work on the November general election ballot.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office is planning to schedule information events for freeholder candidates.
