Clark County councilors on Wednesday delayed action on a proposed agreement on how to implement the new form of government voters approved last year.
Meanwhile, the document’s author, Councilor David Madore, said the proposal is intended to outline how county leaders will work together to implement the charter in an orderly way — not to complicate or undermine the process.
“It’s meant to convey a spirit of cooperation,” Madore said.
Voters approved a home-rule charter form of government in November. Among other changes, the charter will replace the three county commissioners with a five-member council, and shift executive authority to the county manager. Some of those changes, including the transfer of executive power, already took effect Jan. 1. Two additional councilors will be elected later this year.
Madore first floated his “charter implementation process agreement” last month. The proposal describes how “the council, with input from the county manager, will develop an orderly process” to make all necessary changes to county rules and ordinances and complete the transition by next year. At the bottom of the document are spaces for the signatures of all three county councilors and Acting County Manager Mark McCauley.
The proposal has been viewed warily by charter supporters. In a lengthy response sent to county councilors, county resident Chuck Green noted that the agreement takes the form of a contract, which could violate the charter’s separation of the executive and legislative branches. The proposal also locks out the two future council members who won’t be seated until 2016, Green wrote.
County Councilor Tom Mielke indicated at Wednesday’s meeting that he was uncomfortable formalizing the transition in writing with questions still surrounding it. The council didn’t act on the proposal and decided to continue the discussion next week.
Mielke also questioned the charter itself, calling for an “independent” legal review of the document. He said there are inconsistencies in the charter, but couldn’t identify specifics at the meeting. Councilors have recently focused on who has authority to make appointments to various boards and commissions, following an analysis by county research assistant Peter Silliman. Charter supporters have said the charter is consistent with state law.
The charter was written by an elected board of freeholders last year, with guidance from the county’s own legal staff.
Even as they questioned some components of the charter, all three councilors stressed Wednesday that they intend to follow the wishes of county voters.
“I think that we need to do what the charter says,” Mielke said. “If not, we’re going to be taken to the woodshed.”
Councilor Jeanne Stewart reiterated her stance that the transition to a new government should be a careful one.
“We need to maintain our due diligence at the same time that we respect what the citizens did,” she said.
