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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Ridgefield council endorses proposed charter

By , Columbian Small Cities Reporter
Published:

The Ridgefield City Council has thrown its support behind a proposed county home rule charter.

The council voted 6-0 Thursday night to support the measure, which proposes several sweeping changes to the structure of Clark County government. Councilor Darren Wertz chose to abstain from the vote as he’s running for county assessor.

Under the new charter, the county would add two more commissioners to form a new five-member council. One of the five would become the council chairman.

Annual commissioner salaries would be cut virtually in half to $53,000, and the chair would make $64,000. Everyone aside from the chair would be elected by district.

The measure would also create a county manager to handle day-to-day executive duties, much like the current county administrator. Finally, the charter would also grant a limited initiative and referendum process for the public.

Mayor Ron Onslow said the council felt it was important to make a statement about where the city stands on what has become the local focal point of this election season.

“I think it’s moving things forward,” he said. “They already have a hired manager but he is subject to the whims of the three commissioners.”

The councilors spent extensive time studying the new charter, Onslow said. The general feeling among them is that it would usher in a structure similar to a city government.

“It would certainly represent Ridgefield better,” Onslow said. “We are familiar with this type of government.”

The fairly succinct resolution echoes some of the common arguments of other charter supporters. It notes how much growth the county has endured since the charter was drafted and makes a case for a need for change.

The current charter was written in 1889, when the county had a population of just 11,000 residents. Today, more than 440,000 people live in Clark County and county government operates on a budget of more than $400 million a year.

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Columbian Small Cities Reporter