Fifth Charter Review Commission Meeting March 9, 2015, 6:30 PM (Monday)

The fifth meeting of the Charter Review Commission will be held on Monday, March 9, 2015  at 6:30 p.m. in the Civic Center Garden Room, 322 N. Commercial Street, Bellingham, Washington.

The public session is your chance to weigh in on how Whatcom County government will affect your life and livelihood for the next ten years.

Agenda (Amended)

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Pledge of Allegiance
4. Public Session
   Members of the public will have 3 minutes to address the Commission on any subject. Each speaker should state his or her name for the record. To submit handouts, please provide one for each commissioner and two for staff and the record.
   Presentation from Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Dave McEachran
5. Approval of Minutes for February 23, 2015
6. Old Business: Discussion and Possible Vote on Proposed Charter Amendments for Voters at the next General Election (The Commission will take a mid-meeting break if necessary.)
   Proposed Amendment 2 from Joe Elenbaas: Shall the Charter in Article 5.40 and Article 5.60 be amended to increase the "concise statement" limit from 20 words to 40 words?
   Proposed Amendment 3 from Ben Elenbaas: Shall Charter Section 8.20 be amended to prohibit the County Council from proposing Charter amendments on matters that have been approved by a 2/3 majority of voters?
   Proposed Amendment 4 from Jon Mutchler: Shall the Charter Preamble be amended to affirm the diversity of our citizens?
   Proposed Amendment 6 from Ken Bell: Shall the Charter be amended to apply term limits to the County Councilmembers, Executive, Auditor, Treasurer, Assessor, and Sheriff?
   Proposed Amendment 7 from Yvonne Goldsmith: Shall the County Charter prohibit grants and expenditures to non-profit organizations unless the County is reimbursed by another organization or jurisdiction?
   Proposed Amendment 8 from Jon Mutchler: Shall the Charter be amended to provide voter education concerning county officials’ election titles by requiring ballots to refer to the Assessor as the “Property Assessor” and the Auditor as the “Auditor and Elections Officer”?
   Proposed Amendment 9 from Todd Donovan: Shall the Charter be amended to provide for the election of Councilmembers countywide and by districts from which the candidate was nominated?
   Proposed Amendment 10 from Chet Dow: Shall Charter Section 8.23 be amended to prohibit the County Council from proposing any Charter amendment to Charter Sections 2.12 or 2.13?
   Proposed Amendment 11 from Cliff Langley: Shall the Charter be amended to require that the Councilmember At-Large reside in unincorporated Whatcom County and be elected by unincorporated county voters?
7. Old Business: Commission-Approved Charter Amendments
   The Commission voted to forward these proposed amendments to Whatcom County voters. They are not scheduled for discussion at tonight’s meeting. However, any commissioner may move to reconsider these amendments during any meeting.
   Proposed Amendment 1 from Joe Elenbaas: Shall the Charter be amended to provide for election of council members within the council district from which the candidate was nominated?
   Proposed Amendment 5 from Todd Donovan: Shall the Charter be amended to facilitate voting on initiative and referendum?
8. New Business
   Motion to begin Charter Review Commission meetings with prayer – Withdrawn from the agenda
9. Adjourn

The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 2015 at the Lynden City Hall
Annex, 205 - 4th Street, Lynden