Freeholder candidate committee endorses Proposition No. 1

GUEST EDITORIAL

A group of Freeholder candidates representing community and business leaders from around the county have joined together under the name Grant County Citizen Review Committee. This group has formed for the purpose of supporting the passage of Proposition No. 1. They have put together an informational Web site at http://www.grantcharter.com/ which includes freeholder candidate comments on the process.

This group believes that the freeholder election and Home Rule Charter process is good for Grant County. Other public entities and most private sector organizations conduct independent performance reviews to examine themselves and seek improvements for better efficiency and improved levels of service. Our system of county government was designed in the 1800s and has not been reviewed or changed since.

This group does not endorse any specific change in county government. Proposing and adopting a Home Rule Charter does not necessarily mean major changes. In fact, the charter could retain the same three commissioner system with minor changes like making certain elected positions non-partisan or deciding that the coroner should be hired rather than elected.

No matter what the freeholder's propose it must come back to the voters for approval. Moving forward with the process does not change anything. It simply gives citizens the opportunity to review the system and gain local control of local government. Grant County citizens cannot make any change to their system of government, no matter how minor, without going through this process and adopting a Home Rule Charter.

This group of freeholders encourages voters to vote "yes" on Proposition No. 1.

For more information log on to http://www.grantcharter.com/