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The Charter Review Commission that was elected last fall has been meeting since January to review and make proposed changes to the County Charter. The LWVSC was a supporter of making Snohomish County a home rule county with its own charter. Part of the Charter process is that a Commission is formed every ten years to consider updates to the Charter.

The LWVSC has been monitoring this Commission and has some concerns about their process. At the Annual Business Meeting of the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County on Saturday, May 16, the League membership approved the following statement to be shared with the members of the Snohomish County Charter Review Commission and the Snohomish County Council.

The following statement was read to the Commission during public comment at the May 20th meeting of the Commission. This statement and comments were submitted in writing to the Commission and the Snohomish County Council. 

Public comment does not include any dialogue with the Commissioners. There were at least eight LWV members at the Commission hearing to convey our concern to the Charter Review Commission.

"The League of Women Voters of Snohomish County believes the Snohomish County Charter Review Commission has not adequately fulfilled one of its stated tasks “to provide a forum for public input.” The Charter requires* three public hearings to inform decision making. All proposals presented to the Charter Review Commission were given an initial vote prior to any public hearings.

LWVSC has a long history of advocating for local governments to provide adequate notice of proposed actions, hold open meetings and make public records readily accessible. We ask the Charter Review Commission to acknowledge their flawed process when they send their proposals to the Snohomish County Council, and we ask the Snohomish County Council to hold a public hearing for the public to comment on all the proposals – including those not forwarded by the Commission – before approving proposals to be placed on the ballot."

* The commission's attorney, Benjamin Goodwin, confirmed on record at the February 25th meeting that three public hearings in three different areas of the county were required. 
 
I’d like to share additional background:
 
LWVSC actively supported Snohomish County’s becoming a Charter county and the development of this county’s Charter. We also have been watching to ensure that the Commission honors the spirit and charge of the home rule charter to enable public feedback on how this document that governs our county government is working and what changes may be needed. 

Our League has an adopted policy on citizen participation, which, in brief says, “Support of citizen participation in local government by advocating that county and local government branches provide adequate notice of proposed actions, hold open meetings, and make public records readily accessible.”

We believe the current Charter Review Commission has failed to fulfill its stated task of “Provid[ing] a forum for public input.” 

While the commission deliberated extensively, the public's ability to influence that deliberation was extremely limited.  Public comment did not include any dialog with the Commissioners.

No public hearings were planned at the outset. 
The commission's own attorney, Benjamin Goodwin, confirmed on record at the February 25th meeting that three public hearings in three different areas of the county were required. None was held before the submission deadline closed or before the commission's initial vote on all 25 proposals.

No independent submission path. 
All public proposals had to go through commissioners only. Everything was routed through the coordinator's official county email address as the sole intake point.

No right of response. 
Public comment was solely limited to three minutes per speaker during a public comment period, front-loaded before deliberation began. There was no mechanism to respond to commissioners' questions, correct the record, or engage with what commissioners were actually debating.

Lake Stevens was not a public hearing. 
The April 8 meeting in Lake Stevens was a standard voting session held at a different location. The submission deadline closed the same day. No proposal could be introduced or changed.

Arlington, Monroe, and Mountlake Terrace were hearings added late in the process after the public raised concern on April 22. 
The May 13 Arlington, May 20 Monroe, and May 27 Mountlake Terrace meetings were scheduled as standard sessions after initial votes on all proposal votes were complete. Residents could and can still comment, but those comments will not change the outcome on any proposals that were voted on early in the process before any hearings were held. 
 
There was a potential conflict of interest.
LWVSC is also disappointed and concerned that the Commission was not made aware of possible conflicts of interest in their appointment of a key staff member - the Commission Coordinator position. This situation should be rectified so conflicts of this nature are clear to all parties and future appointments are free of conflicts of interest. 

After the May 20 meeting, LWVSC President Lisa Utter submitted her comment via email to the Commission and to the Snohomish County Council.

In addition, as president of the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County, Lisa sent this information as a news release and op-ed article to local news outlets in Snohomish County.