What will this new Charter give us?

For better representation the Good Governance charter would:

• Divide the county into four districts
• Change the current three commissioner structure to a five commissioner board
  • Each district will elect a commissioner from their district to represent that district
  • The fifth commissioner will be elected at large
  • Districts will be determined by dividing up the population based on the 2020 census.

Better management would be achieved by:

• Requiring a full-time county manager to run day-to-day operations
  • The Board will approve a professional with the necessary education, training, and experience
  • County Commissioners can focus on setting policy instead of running a business operation that they may lack the time and experience to administer.
  • With 5 Commissioners all decision making will require a quorum of three versus the current quorum of just two.

This Charter is designed to be cost effective and improve efficiency:

• No longer will 3 Commissioners receive full salaries and benefits.
  • Under our current charter, each commissioner receives a full salary plus benefits. Once they have been in office for 5 years, they are entitled to PERS for life.  This year’s budget for the salaries and benefits is $406,000.
  • Under the new charter, the commissioners will no longer receive salaries and benefits, or PERS. Instead, each part-time commissioner will receive a monthly stipend equivalent to about $25,000 annually.
  • $406,000 - $125,000 = $281,000. This is enough to hire a well-qualified, full-time county manager, pay an excellent salary and benefits and stay within the county budget..
  • Instead of PERS for 3 Commissioner positions snowballing over the years as commissioners come and go, the county would have just one more department head to put on its PERS roll.

Better Accountability

• A manager system would bring professional insights and personnel management of county operations.
• Each commissioner would be responsible to the citizens of his or her district.
• The citizens of the county as well as local media would have five commissioners and a manger to get information from instead of the current three.

CRG’s intention is to create a more balanced group of commissioners who would offer more diverse discussions, more creativity, better representation and accountability for all Josephine County citizens. 

Read it in its entirety!

The Proposed Charter

Side-by-Side Comparison to the Current