Group wants county government to change

EPHRATA — A committee of about 100 Grant County residents — shepherded by both Moses Lake real-estate agent Ralph Kincaid and attorney Brian Dano — hope to change the structure of county government, with voter's help.

The committee members are calling themselves "Voters for Council-Manager Form of Grant County Government," and they believe the time has arrived for voters to determine if a home-rule charter form of government needs implementing.

The home-rule charter form of government, the committee suggests, will provide for more professional management of the county's services and business. They also believe the change will foster more streamlined operational and decision-making processes in county government.

The committee makeup includes current and former elected officials from the cities of Moses Lake, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Royal City and the town of Wilson Creek. Several county business leaders have lent their name in support of the committee and its stated objective.

The group went public with its proposal Wednesday, speaking to Grant County Commission Chair Richard Stevens and commissioners LeRoy Allison and Deborah Moore at the courthouse.

"We simply think this is a better form of government," Kincaid said. "This is not a vendetta, we're not going after anybody."

The committee has proposed an elected council of five to seven members, which they believe will broaden citizen representation through a larger elected council. That council would hire a county manager. The prosecutor and county judges would still be elected.

The current system of electing some department heads may only ensure that citizens get the person most electable and not the person most qualified for the job, the committee argues.

Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey and Ephrata Mayor Chris Jacobson spoke in favor of the committee's proposal at Wednesday's meeting.

Some current and former county officials, and others, however, question the committee's motivations behind the change and wonder why the group has not justified the need for change with specific examples and facts.

Instead, some county officials say, the group has relied on generalizations. They believe the committee must explain what's wrong with the current system, first, and then describe how the new system would work better.

Darryl Pheasant, who in 20 years as the county's treasurer has seen his staff drop from 13 to 9 people, has maintained the services county residents expect, he said, even though the workload in his office continues to increase and budget growth has remained flat. He said his office has utilized technology to stay efficient and streamlined.

Large businesses, Pheasant said, like Yahoo! and Microsoft Network have shown confidence in both county and city government by opting to build giant data centers in Quincy, suggesting changes sought by the committee may not be necessary.

Pheasant attended Wednesday's meeting, but came away disappointed, he said, because the committee didn't provide examples of what specifically needs to be changed.

"We didn't get the substance that meets the intensity of their desire to change the county's government," he said. "We were there to address something, but there was nothing to address. We'd love to hear the opportunities we're missing."

Grant County currently operates with three elected commissioners, a legislative body responsible for establishing department budgets and appointing some department heads. Voters, under the current system, also elect a sheriff, prosecutor, assessor, auditor, coroner, clerk, treasurer, and superior and district court judges.

The sheriff and others take an oath of office to uphold state laws. They all operate independently and autonomously of each other, with their budgets determined by the commission.

Grant County Sheriff Frank De Trolio believes the current system works. If voters don't like his performance, he said, they vote him out. He prefers it that way.

The current commission can opt to put a measure on the ballot this fall, or the committee can have it placed on the ballot by collecting signatures from at least 10 percent of the voters who participated in the last general election. About 2,000 signatures from registered voters would be needed by early August.

"Forcing us to go get the signatures will create an adversarial atmosphere," Kincaid told the commissioners Wednesday. A commission vote, as opposed to the petition route, would demonstrate the commission's willingness to be open to new and progressive ideas without endorsing any specific change of government, he said.

Former Grant County Assessor Don McDowall, of Moses Lake, disagreed with Kincaid's assumption that the petition route would automatically create an adversarial atmosphere.

"All you are doing is making sure the people are a little bit better informed," McDowall said. "That's (Kincaid's) terminology, what it will actually be is more informational."

McDowall, who spent 16 years as the county's assessor, is not in favor of the committee's proposal, he said, because the form of government the committee is pushing takes the representation away from the people.

"(The committee) wants all of the department heads appointed, instead of elected," he said. "Hey, that's one of the big things about being the assessor, people like to come in and tell you how they're going to 'throw you out of office.'"

McDowall said there have been 31 unsuccessful attempts to adopt home rule among Washington's various counties. Six counties have voted for change. A push for home rule in the late 1980s failed to make the ballot in Grant County.

Former state senator Harold Hochstatter, from Moses Lake, advised the commissioners not to pass a resolution. He believes the committee should collect the signatures, debate the issue thoroughly, and ensure a more transparent process.

"Don't pass this resolution," he told the commissioners. "Adversarial is good."

With the signatures gathered, or the majority approval from the county commissioners, voters would begin the process of change by selecting 15 to 25 freeholders — Grant County residents who are registered voters.

The freeholders would analyze the current form of government. If a new form of government is desired, then the unpaid freeholders would draft a new form of county government, or charter. That charter would then be brought before voters for approval.

The council-manager form of government proposed by Kincaid and others, with an appointed manager, currently exists in only one Washington county. San Juan County, with a population smaller than the City of Moses Lake, approved their form of the council-manager form of government in November 2005.

King, Pierce, Snohomish and Whatcom counties have elected managers or administrators.

Commissioner Moore, who after eight years in office has decided not to seek another term, would not be impacted by a change in government. She said she would support a commission vote to put the measure on the ballot.

"Allowing this to be on the ballot this fall will allow citizens to be more engaged (in the process)," Moore said. "I think this proposal has a lot of merit."

Allison, though, was undecided. "I still have a concern that other voices need to be heard before I would vote on this," he said. "I want the public involved."

Stevens said wage levels for the new full-time professional manager and appointed department heads would generally be higher.

"This is going to be more expensive," he said. "I see that right away."

A public hearing has been set for June 27, at 9:30 a.m. in the courthouse to discuss the issue.