There are caveats, concerns and differences of opinions on the details, but elected officials in Lewis County seem to be unanimous in the belief that a professional manager or executive would improve the efficiency of county government.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer was perhaps the most vocal when speaking before the task force gathered to assess county government this week.
Meyer noted how most elected positions — including his own — are filled by experts in their given fields. That’s not the case for the commissioners, who require no previous experience with multimillion dollar budgets and managing hundreds of employees as they act as de facto managers for the county.
Meyer said it was “like herding cats.”
“I’m concerned with the future of the county simply because I think our priorities are out of whack as far as some of the budgeting items,” Meyer said. “… My issue is we need to do what we have to do before we can do what we want to do, and there are core functions county governments are required to do and functions we have taken on as a county that we are not required to fulfill.”
Meyer’s support for a manager or executive comes after that of Auditor Larry Grove and Sheriff Rob Snaza last week. Meanwhile, Treasurer Arny Davis and Assessor Dianne Dorey offered softer support for a manager or executive to help assist the commissioners, but each had concerns or specific ways they’d like to see such a position filled.
There are many considerations to be made. Would the position be elected by constituents or hired by commissioners? What duties would be delegated to a manager and what would be retained by the commissioners? Perhaps most importantly of all, as the county continues to drain reserves, how would the position be paid for?
Right now, county commissioners Edna Fund, Gary Stamper and Bobby Jackson each absorb more than $100,000 in salaries and benefits each year. That’s compared to the small stipends of city councilors in Centralia and Chehalis, which each pay for a professional city manager to work at the will of the elected councils.
That’s what makes the home rule charter process so attractive. If the commissioners approve the process — or residents of Lewis County collect about 3,000 signatures to initiate it — freeholders would be elected to propose a reformation of county government. Such a process could result in an elected county council that reinvests what is currently being paid to inexperienced commissioners toward a professional who can better manage taxpayer money.
We believe the county’s continued reliance on reserves, upheaval at the 911 Communications Center, the continued unnecessary expenditures for a government-run tourism operation and a line of lawsuits growing from issues of mismanagement illustrate taxpayers aren’t getting what they’re paying for right now, and that’s a professionally managed government.
We can debate the many ways a county manager or executive could come to fruition, but it seems there is growing agreement that the status quo is simply not working for the people who pay the commissioners’ salaries.
We’ll await the completion of the task force’s work, but If the commissioners choose not to act in a way that might hurt their paychecks, perhaps it will be time for the citizens to act on their own.
