Open and Effective Government
Government is only as strong as the level of participation and buy-in by residents. The first step in building loyalty is to make government processes as accessible and open as possible. I think Klickitat County can do a better job on various fronts. Discussion continued on my website KlickitatPat.com.
Boards, Commissions, and Advisory Committees
Important county function are performed by boards, commissions, and advisory committees. All such boards, commissions, and committees should be listed on the County website, with members names, information about the term of each member, qualifications for membership, and how vacancies are filled.
When there are vacancies, they should be advertised and applications solicited on the website and via press releases to local newspapers and radio stations. By-laws, charter documents, and links to appropriate state regulations for all county boards and commissions should be available on the County website.
Here is a quick review of existing boards, commissions, and advisory committees:
| Members names posted? | Charter / bylaws/ state regs? | Terms of members? | How members selected/qualifications? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Adjustment | No | No | No | No |
| Board of Equalization | No | No | No | No |
| Civil Service Commission | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Noxious Weed Control Board | Yes | Yes | No | Some info |
| Planning Commission | No | No | No | No |
| Senior Advisory Board | Yes | No | No | Some |
| Solid Waste Advisory Committee | No | Yes | No | Some |
| Board of Health | Not listed on website | |||
| Land and Natural Resource Advisory Committee | Not listed on website | |||
Agendas and minutes
Planning Commission and County Commission agendas, minutes, and meeting packets should be available before meetings, on the website and in email form to people who sign up to receive them. If agendas are in draft form, they can be labeled that way, and interested people of course should be aware that there can be last-minute changes in agendas. Information required or allowed by state law to be kept confidential, such as personnel matters, would of course be excluded.
County documents
Ordinances, drafts of ordinances, and proposed revisions of ordinances should be available on the County website, with any proposed changes and deletions clearly identified using standard word-processing tools. Reports from county staff and consultants, such as buildable lands inventories, should be available. I understand that this is complicated, but the first priority should be facilitating public participation in decision-making and that requires making documents available and easy to find. Links to relevant state laws and regulations can also be helpful.
Examples – chosen at random.
- The latest salmon recovery lead entity strategy available on the website is 2013. Funding proposals have been chosen for 2016. Current information and links should be on the website.
- WRIA 29B planning documents are not available. The only document listed, which I am happy to find, is a consultant’s well log study from 2015.
- Last agenda and minutes listing for the Solid Waste Advisory Board is 2002