Commission decides current government is fine
WASHINGTON – The Washington County Government Study Commission has decided that the current form of government ought to be kept in place. The nine-member commission was elected in November and immediately got to work examining the current county government, similar county governments and counties that have adopted home rule charters.
“We went up to Erie, we talked to North Hampton by telephone and we looked at all the charters,” said Marlene Luketich, who chaired the study commission. “I saw nothing out of all the information that I read or the financial information that I reviewed….that made it worth our changing.”
Luketich said the current state law on home rule does not give counties enough power or latitude to make effective changes in areas such as the tax structure and issues such as gambling still fall entirely under state control.
Still, the decision this past week to end the study and stay with the current form of government came as a surprise to Luketich. She said the commission was getting ready to hold a series of public hearings when commission member Mike Wallace called for a vote on whether to write a home rule charter. The vote failed 5-4. Commission member Anthony Spossey then made a motion to keep the current form of government, and it passed 7-0.
“Mike Wallace abstained and I wasn’t called on to vote,” Luketich said.
She said the next step for the study commission is to write final reports, including one overall report, plus reports from the majority and minority points of view.
Luketich said that while the commission decided to keep the current form of government, some changes will be recommended.
“I was impressed with Erie’s way of handling human services. They do it with private providers, but they handle all the administration on it,” she said.
One thing the study showed was that counties without home rule tend to be financially more efficient, Luketich said, and Washington County received a good review on financial efficiency.
Luketich said the members of the study commission got along during the process, despite some heated discussions, and all nine members approached the task with open minds.
County Commissioner Bracken Burns questioned that assessment.
“I’m disappointed by the process. The voters of Washington County said, ‘Let’s study the process of government in Washington County.’ It was a sham to begin with. Five ran with the idea of keeping the government the way it is. I question whether they truly entered into it with an open mind,” Burns said.
John Bevec, chairman of the county commissioners, saw it differently.
“I was not in favor of home rule. I was happy to hear what they found. In my talks with them, they all seemed to have an open mind,” Bevec said. “I’d be interested in looking at any of their recommendations for improvement.”
Commissioner Diana Irey said the study commission appeared to do a thorough job.
“I believe that the study commission did an extensive and complete study of county government. They are to be commended for the time they dedicated to the project,” she said.
The study commission has until September to complete its reports.