HOME RULE CHARTER ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

The Deschutes County Home Rule Charter Committee has agreed upon a charter proposal for consideration by the voters in the November General Election. A Home Rule Charter has been likened to a County Constitution in that it governs the way a county government is structured.

The proposal includes many changes in how the Deschutes County Government is now structured. For example, the charter proposes that there be five, geographically elected commissioners instead of the three that are currently elected countywide. The commission positions which are currently elected in a partisan primary would become nonpartisan positions and would be elected like the County Sheriff and County Clerk are currently elected. These are just a couple of the proposed changes that the committee felt would improve the flexibility and accountability of the County Commission.

But the main point to remember is that by having a charter, voters can adapt the charter to the changing needs of the County. If any issue in the proposed charter does not work out to be in the best interests of the citizens of Deschutes County, it can be changed by a vote of the people. Without a charter, the county must be structured as outlined in State Law which was written over a hundred years ago. In 1958, after getting numerous requests from County governments for more flexibility because they were unable to act in response to local needs without authority from the State Legislature, the State Legislature adopted the county home rule charter constitutional amendment. This allowed individual counties to form their own charters to meet the unique needs of their citizens. Nine counties have currently taken advantage of this amendment, and I hope Deschutes County will become the tenth.

We will have a speaker from the Charter committee at our First Thursday Luncheon in October, who will have much more information about the proposal and a map of the proposed five, geographical districts. So get your questions together and bring your friends, because many citizens are still not aware of what a Home Rule Charter would do for Deschutes County.

Andrea Blum, LWVDC President and Charter Committee member

 

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