PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Charter Review Commission will ask the public whether the elected county community development director should return to being appointed.
Commission members voted last week to add the director position to a list of topics for a series of public hearings next month.
Public hearings will be held June 1 in Forks, June 15 in Sequim and June 29 in Port Angeles.
Members of the public can testify on anything they want, whether it is part of the hearing agenda or not.
Clallam is one of seven counties in the state that operate under a home-rule charter, a type of county constitution.
The elected Charter Review Commission will develop proposed charter amendments for voters to consider in the November election.
The commission voted May 4 on topics to bring to the public hearings, including the size of the Board of County Commissioners and electing a Charter Review Commission every four years instead of every eight.
Whether the DCD director should be appointed was voted down for inclusion on the public hearing agenda May 4.
The 15-member panel decided last week to bring the issue to public hearing after getting a host of public comment based on the May 4 exclusion.
Clallam is the only county in the nation with an elected community development director after voters approved a charter amendment in 2002.
Also on May 18, the commission approved a questionnaire that will solicit citizen input on the composition of the Board of County Commissioners and other issues.
Approved topics for next month’s hearings include:
■ Change the word “cooperation” in section 1.20 of the county charter to “coordination.”
■ Elect the Board of County Commissioners by district in both the primary and general elections.
■ Change the composition of the board from three to five members.
■ Define “the county” in the charter.
■ Define the duties of the administrator with regard to other elected officials and the budget process.
■ Move initiatives and referendums to the ballot without transmission through the Board of County Commissioners.
■ Change the charter to allow citizens 120 days rather than 90 days to gather petition signatures for initiatives and referendums.
■ Revise the appeals process for county employees who have been suspended or dismissed.
■ Restrict elected county officials, the county administrator and charter-exempt employees from serving on the Charter Review Commission.
■ Elect a Charter Review Commission every four years.
All of the hearings next month will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The hearing in Forks will be at 6:30 p.m. June 1 at Forks City Hall, 500 Division St.
The hearing in Sequim will be at 6:30 p.m. June 15 at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
The hearing in Port Angeles will be a 6:30 p.m. June 29 in Room 160 at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.
Preceding each of the hearings will be a Clallam County League of Women Voters information session on the county charter.
League-sponsored presentations, “Our County Charter in Context,” are scheduled at 5 p.m. in Forks and Sequim and at 4:30 p.m. in Port Angeles.
The Clallam County Home Rule Charter fits within a system of state, local and federal law, and holds a special place as the local “constitution,” the League said.
Attorney Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin will discuss what this means in regard to what is in the County Charter and what should be considered when thinking about changing it, the League said.
For more information on the League, visit www.lwvcla.org.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
