Task Force Brainstorming Meeting Produced Ideas

The Charter Review Task Force held a brainstorming get together at the Rome Grange yesterday at 6:30 pm. We discussed a number of topics, ranging from how to communicate with each other, and with the Charter Review Commission, to what a charter amendment looks like, and how best to present a proposal to the Charter Review Commission.

We had some sample amendments (which may or may not be something we would actually want to put forward, but just something to look at). This started people thinking, and many good new ideas came up. Various people volunteered to go off and develop them further.

The commission may wish to hear from county elected officials and staff (who are directly affected by the charter, and must operate within its constraints) before hearing from the general public, so we have a few weeks to prepare our proposals.

The fact that the commission may need to hear the same proposals more than once (in order to get a sense of what's important to the citizens), was discussed. Repetition bears repeating. ;-)

Discussion of various amendments and their development, can be done here in the discussion section, or email us, and we can help get things going. The discussion on the website is public; email is private. Each has its uses.

Be familiar with the charter. There's a link to it on our sidebar, under Resources on the Web/The Whatcom County Charter.

Suggested outline for presenting amendments to the Charter Review Commission

1. Introduce yourself (include the city and district in which you live)
2. Thank the Commission for committing to all the hard work of this process
3. Say which section of the Charter you wish the Commission to consider for amendment ie., "I would like the Charter Review Commission to consider amending Section 2.13 of the Charter concerning election of County Council"
4. Briefly highlight why this amendment would be necessary, with a few brief facts. Use your written material to give more information to the Commission.
5. Give the Commission the wording you would like for the amendment ie., "I would like the Commission to consider that Section 2.13 read as follows ..."
6. Have at least 16 copies of your suggested amendment and the facts that support it to leave with the Commission (one for each Commissioner and one for the clerk).  Consider making more copies for the media, folks in the audience, and/or send the Task Force a file and we can link on our website. 
7. Be calm, respectful and stick to your topic. The commissioners probably aren't responsible for the state of Whatcom County; they're here to help fix it!