Election 2018: Washougal Seeks to Significantly Change Form of Government

Washougal, WA — Proposition 8 is a City of Washougal ballot measure for the November 6, 2018 elections, which gives voters the opportunity to decide whether to change Washougal’s form of government from Mayor-Council to Council-Manager.

It’s a change incumbent city council members requested early in Mayor Molly Coston’s first term, and one that she’s neutral on.

“I support it,” said Washougal City Councilor, Brent Boger. “Checks and balances is not really an ideal system for a city the size of Washougal. I’ve worked in City Manager systems and in strong Mayor systems.”

The issue is also something that the City of Camas is mulling.

Why is the Proposal on the Ballot?

In March 2018, Coston appointed the Citizens Government Advisory Committee and charged them with the task of determining whether it was the right time to transition to a Council-Manager form of government. The Citizens Government Advisory Committee recommended that the City Council place on the November 2018 ballot a measure to adopt the Council-Manager form of government for the City of Washougal. On May 29th, 2018 the Council adopted a resolution placing this issue on the November 2018 ballot.

What is the Council-Manager form of government? (PROPOSED FORM)

In a Council-Manager form of government, power is shared by an elected legislature consisting of a seven-member Council, which is responsible for policymaking and adopting the budget, and a professional city manager, appointed by the Council, who is responsible for administration of the City. Each City Council member serves a four-year term. The Mayor serves as a Council member and community representative, presides over Council meetings, but has no executive power. In this form of government, the Council selects one member of the Council as Mayor, or voters can choose to have the Mayor be directly elected.

A professional city manager is hired by the Council and is responsible for administration of the City. This includes the daily operations of city government, handling personnel functions (including appointment and removal of employees), and preparation of the budget for submission to the City Council for their review and approval. The city manager is directly accountable to and can be removed by a majority vote of the City Council at any time. Under the Council-Manager statutes, the City Council is prohibited from interfering with the manager’s administration.

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What is the Mayor-Council form of government? (CURRENT FORM)

In the Mayor-Council form of government, the Mayor is elected at-large and serves as the City’s Chief Administrative Officer and the seven-member City Council is elected to serve as the legislative body of the City. The Council has the authority to formulate and adopt city policies and the budget and the Mayor is responsible for carrying them out. The Mayor attends and presides over Council meetings, but does not vote, except in the case of a tie. The Mayor has veto power over the legislation passed by the City Council, but the veto can be overridden by a majority plus one of the entire Council membership.

A professional city administrator can be hired to serve under the Mayor and assist with administrative and policy-related duties. The City of Washougal currently has a city administrator.

If Proposition 8 passes, how will Washougal transition to a Council-Manager city?

The current Mayor would become an eighth Council member and the Council would continue with eight members until the expiration of the current Mayor’s term of office (December of 2021). The City Administrator would become an Interim City Manager until the city hires a new City Manager or appoints the Interim City Manager on a permanent basis. The eight member Council would designate one of its members to hold the position of Mayor. When the current Mayor’s term expires, the Council would then revert to seven members. After the transition, the Council could decide to place another ballot measure on a future ballot to ask voters if they want to directly elect the Mayor instead of the Mayor being appointed by the Council. In the resolution placing the change in form of government ballot measure on the November ballot, the Council expressed its intention to place a ballot measure to directly elect the Mayor on a future ballot if the change in form of government passes.

To learn more, visit www.cityofwashougal.us

Washougal Mayor, Molly Coston, takes the oath of office from Judge John Hagensen.