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News and Updates as of March 9, 2010:
Thanks to all who attended last night's Public Forum about the Charter from 7 to 9 p.m. in Council Chambers! About a dozen members of the public, plus County staff, Councilors, and Charter Review Committee (CRC) members attended. The Forum was moderated by the League of Women Voters (our thanks to Becky Shankland and Barb Calef for setting up the forum and format!) and was broadcast LIVE last night on PAC 8. If you missed the forum, don't worry! It will be available using Video on Demand on the PAC 8 webpage within the next 48 hours. There was some great discussion about the history of the Charter, previous reviews by other committees, and education about what it means to be a Home Rule County. Those in attendance raised some excellent points and thought-provoking questions; general notes from the forum will be posted here by the PIO on the webpage within the next few days.
More News...
The most recent CRC meeting was held on Monday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. in White Rock Town Hall. The meeting focused on the report drafted by the Issues Identification Subcommittee (read the related posting "About the Issues Identification Subcommittee" for background - scroll down). After hearing from the Subcommittee, the CRC solicited feedback from the audience in answer to the question: What are the top issues in the report that should be addressed? A handful of members from the public attended on March 1 and gave the CRC their comments.
As a result, two new Subcommitttees for Issues Analysis were formed on March 1:
The Issues Analysis Subcommittee of the Charter Review Committee will meet on Thursday, March 11 at 4 p.m. in Council Chambers to begin work on identifying solutions to their selected issue: “The perceived need for voters to have more control over major County projects.” The members of this subcommittee are Chris Chandler, Harry Ettinger, Deborah Gill and Morrie Pongratz.
The other issue that a separate CRC subcommittee will be working on is “poor communication by County Government.” The members of this subcommittee are Vice-Chair Larry Warner, Jim Hall, David Izraelevitz, and Robert Pelak. They will meet on Thursday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the Training Room (located on the northwest corner of the Community Building - enter using the door next to Co-op Extension and take the hallway back to the room).
Subcommittee meetings are open to the public and will be announced through local media outlets prior to each meeting. They will also be posted on this webpage.
In addition, the next regular CRC meeting will also focus on "brainstorming possible solutions" to the two issues listed above, with public input. That meeting will be held on Monday, March 15th at 5:30 p.m. at the Los Alamos Golf Course Building and the public is encouraged to attend. A final public forum in April has been planned to present the proposed solutions to the public. The CRC will then open public comment on the solutions and plans to suspend Committee meetings for the month of May. Public Comment will remain open until they reconvene on June 7.
The CRC continues to work on the two petition issues in parallel with it's primary objective to completely review the Charter. The main emphasis at the moment is on the CRC’s Subcommittee for “Consistency and Clarity” which is continuing to work with the appointed Attorney on evaluating technical or legal wording issues in the Charter, and their recommendations are still expected to be heard by the full CRC and then forwarded to the Council by the end of April. The Council would have the option to consider and place any of those recommendations on the ballot in November for voter consideration and possible changes to the Charter. Council’s actions would need to occur in May in order to meet requirements for publishing the ballots for the fall election. The "C and C" subcommittee members are Chris Chandler, David Izraelevitz and Robert Pelak.
The CRC also prepared an interim report to the Council about their work last week.
Looking for the County Charter?
Visit the 311 Customer Care Center, either public library, or, you can search the Charter and read it on line! Return to the home page, look under "Popular Links" and click on the Municipal Code/Charter link.
About the Charter Review Committee Meetings...
The CRC meets twice a month and alternates locations between Los Alamos and White Rock. They meet at 5:30 p.m. in White Rock Town Hall on the first Monday of each month, and at the Los Alamos Golf Course at 5:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month (unless otherwise posted.) All meetings are open to the public and they follow the Council's Open Meetings Resolution, just as any Board or Commission would. Opportunities for public comment are offered at the beginning and end of each meeting. For more information about the selection of the CRC and why they are working on the Charter, scroll down.
About the Issues Identification Subcommittee...
The Issues Identification Subcommittee held four “listening sessions” with the public in February 2010 – specifically seeking feedback about two recent petitions for changes to the County Charter that were considered by the Council on January 23rd. The Council voted against two resolutions that would have called for a Special Election regarding the petitions; however, the Council directed the CRC to explore the underlying issues relevant to the two petitions and seek extensive public feedback. The petitions proposed adding two new sections to the Charter: Section 705 would require an annual election for voter approval of certain capital projects, and of the conveyance, lease or major change in use of public lands and setting forth requirements affecting the annual election process. Section 706 would set forth requirements concerning petitions and ballot measures.
Three CRC members comprised the Issues Identification Subcommittee: Chris Chandler, Jim Hall, and Robert Pelak. Citizens can still review the two petitions by downloading the text in a PDF file containing the Jan. 23, 2010 Council meeting agenda in the right sidebar.
This subcommittee is no longer active - it completed its task and the CRC has formed new subcommittees to take over the analysis of the issues. (see News posting above.)
Newly Posted Documents...
The PIO's notes from the 2/1/10 meeting are now posted. They are displayed in the right column. The public is encouraged to review these notes. However, it should be emphasized that the notes featured here are simply based on notes taken by the PIO on a laptop during the meeting -- and purely informational in support of the CRC's desire to be transparent to the public, and to keep citizens informed in a timely manner about their work. These notes are not official minutes of the CRC and are not intended to do more than simply capture the nature of the conversations between Committee members and members of the public who give comments.
Several citizens asked if the County would post the proposed 1966 charter. While this proposal didn't pass a vote, it is being posted here and is at both libraries (Reference Desk) as a helpful reference to the history of the Charter.
The Issues Identification Subcommittee report is available here and the public is encouraged to review the document in the Links & Documents section (right sidebar). It is also at the Reference desks of both libraries and the 311 Center.
Background:
The County Charter has not been reviewed for many years, and the Council desires to have extensive citizen involvement regarding additions, deletions, or clarifications. The Council appointed a Council Subcommittee this past summer to draft guidelines that could be given to a citizen-based steering committee to undertake this task. The guidelines were discussed in October 2009 and adopted by the Council. Shortly thereafter, the County ran advertisements and web postings calling for interested citizens to apply via letter of interest to be considered for appointment. Fifteen citizens applied and Council appointed nine of those citizens to the Charter Review Committee in November 2009. The nine members are:
Chris Chandler
Harry Ettinger
Deborah Gill
David Izraelevitz
Jim Hall
John Hopkins
Robert Pelak
Morrie Pongratz
Larry Warner
The Chairman is John Hopkins. Vice Chairman is Larry Warner.
County staff liaison is Steven Lynne, Administrative Services Director and Chief Financial Officer.
The Committee met for the first time on December 9th, 2009. Citizens are invited and encouraged to watch the Committee at work over the next few months. Notes about their meetings are posted to this webpage shortly following each meeting, and minutes are recorded and posted as well after they have been approved by the Committee. The Committee expects to have several venues for public comment in the future (outside of their work meetings).