Eighth Charter Review Commission Meeting Scheduled for April 27, 2015, 6:30 PM (Monday)

The eighth meeting of the Charter Review Commission will be held on Monday, April 27, 2015, 6:30 PM in the Ferndale Library, 2125 Main Street, Ferndale.

Agenda

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. 
5. Approval of Minutes for April 13, 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 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 12 from Jon Mutchler: Shall the Charter be amended to include a new section to require compliance with the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act?
   
   Proposed Amendment 13 from Eli Mackiewicz: Shall the Charter be amended to include four political parties, instead of two, in the districting process?
   
   Proposed Amendment 14 from Todd Donovan and Jon Mutchler: Shall the Charter be amended to lower the threshold requirement for ballot signatures for Whatcom County Charter changes from 20% to 15% for citizen initiatives?
   
7. Old Business: Proposed Charter Amendments for Voters at the next General Election
   The Commission voted to forward these proposed amendments to Whatcom County voters. They will not be discussed 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 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 5 from Todd Donovan: Shall the Charter be amended to facilitate voting on initiative and referendum?
   
   Proposed Amendment 6 from Ken Bell: Shall the Charter be amended to apply term limits to the County Councilmembers?
   
   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?
8. New Business County Auditor duties and responsibilities amendment.
9. Adjourn 

The next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on May 11, 2015 at the Civic Center Garden Room, 322 N. Commercial, Bellingham, Washington.