The political action committee One Lewis County took a monumental step forward in its plans to launch the home rule charter process by turning over its petitions filled with signatures for validation to the county’s auditor’s office on Tuesday morning as the group continues on its path to potentially reorganize Lewis County government.
Spearheaded by the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce, One Lewis County members stated they had collected more than 2,000 signatures.
“We are really excited,” executive director of the chamber Alicia Bull said. “We think it’s a positive move for Lewis County that will allow the voters to take a look at what other options are out there as far as the form of government.”
Tom Stanton, chief deputy auditor for Lewis County, said the validation process should only take a couple of days.
“We are going to get it done because everyone wants to know as soon as possible,” Stanton said, adding the results will likely be available by the end of the week.
If at least 1,668 signatures match the ones on file in the auditor’s office voter registration database, then two measures would be placed on the November ballot. Those would include a vote to pursue the charter process, while another one would elect the freeholders that would be charged with drafting a plan to reorganize the county form of government.
Bull said she assumed 70 percent of the signatures would be validated. If the signature threshold is not met, One Lewis County would be allowed to collect more signatures to get the required amount. Each signature is only valid for six months and the first one was collected on Aug. 5, Bull said.
“That gives us a lot of time,” she said. “We are way ahead of schedule. It went way smoother than we ever expected and we had a really great response.”
If successful, Stanton said the auditor’s office plans to hold open candidate filing for the freeholder positions during the normal filing period in May.
So far, Bull said One Lewis County has received a lot of interest from individuals who would like to become freeholders. After signatures are validated, a freeholder information night will be held to educate people who want to be involved in the process.
Placing the measure on the ballot would continue the conversation on hiring a county manager who would oversee day-to-day operations for the county’s commissioners, Bull said, adding that’s the major goal for One Lewis County.
“We’ve all been waiting and watching to see if they would take the recommendation of the blue ribbon committee and it hasn’t happened, so we had to move to try to make some progress here, because progress isn’t being made,” Bull said.
In July, a commissioner-appointed task force charged with scrutinizing the current form of government returned an official recommendation to the commissioners to hire a county manager at the beginning of 2018. They did not recommend the pursuit of a home rule charter.
The group was appointed after citizens began to hold informal meetings earlier in the year that focused on the potential for a home rule charter. The discussions followed a number of lawsuits and the continued use of reserves to balance the budget.
Last week, the Board of Lewis County Commissioners stated the potential for the home rule charter process could complicate the hiring process for a manager.
“Even if we do recruitment, they would look at us and research us, and wonder ‘How long will I be here,’” Commissioner Edna Fund said. “Some folks said ‘I wouldn’t apply for that just because of that.’”
Commissioner Bobby Jackson agreed, stating the office is currently in “an uncertain time.”
In November, commissioners Jackson and Gary Stamper agreed to move forward with the hiring of a consultant in 2018 to the tune of $20,000 so a professional could come in and evaluate the structure of county government to determine what role the position would have. Fund was not present at the meeting.
Last week, when asked by The Chronicle if the commissioners still planned to hire a consultant, Fund said she didn’t believe a decision was made on the topic.
“We have some differing views here,” she said. “We’ll talk about that on Monday.”
Although the topic was listed on the agenda for the commissioner’s wrap up meeting on Monday, it was never discussed.
Bull stated if action on a county manager was not taken by the commissioners, it would further solidify One Lewis County’s mission.
“If they’re trying to blame the initiative for not hiring a county executive, we feel really comfortable with this being a positive step forward,” she said. “We’ve heard many excuses and heard them voice their opinions several times.”
Commissioners still have the opportunity to pass a resolution that would kick off the home rule charter process despite the petition process. If that occurred, Stanton said the measures could be placed on a ballot in the spring, but if no move is made by the board, the soonest it could happen through the petition process is the November general election.
Commissioners stated they planned to hold a meeting with the auditor’s office and the prosecutor’s office later this month to discuss what options they have.
Bull stated that there would be a benefit to the commissioners passing the resolution.
“It would show that they are wanting to take the initiative to make some progress, so that would be a big deal,” she said. “If they wanted to embrace it at this point and wanted to get on board, participate and find a solution, we would see that as a very positive thing.”
The petitions signed by Lewis County residents call for 15 freeholders, Stanton said. Commissioners would still be in charge of determining whether those freeholders were separated into commissioner districts or legislative districts.
With the search for a new risk manager, commissioners last week discussed which position would make the most sense to hire first.
The county’s current risk manager Paulette Young hasn’t given her leave notice yet, but said she plans to move on from the position this year.
No decisions were made at the meeting, but commissioners seemed to lean toward hiring a manager prior to a risk manager.
“My priority would be to move forward and hire the manager, the directive, or executive,” Stamper said.
One Lewis County has put forth several recommendations for the home rule charter. That includes increasing the commission to five-part time individuals who are paid drastically less than the $100,000 commissioners currently make in both salary and benefits.
Ultimately, the changes to government would be made by the elected body of freeholders.
“We’re really excited to see the interest of the freeholders now that we’re moving forward with the validation process,” Bull said. “That’s the next big step.”
