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Camas City: Mayoral Appointment, Budget, Pool Site Analysis, Land Buys

It’s an extra busy time these days as the City of Camas works on several major initiatives, including the upcoming mayoral appointment, the biennial budget (which includes funds for five new firefighters), researching land for a new aquatics complex, the general obligation bond, and new business licenses, among others.

Mayoral Appointment

While all of these initiatives are happening concurrently, the new mayoral appointment is a top priority, as it will guide the city’s direction. The September resignation of former Mayor Scott Higgins leaves the office vacant, and it will be filled by City Council appointment. Two internal candidates have officially applied for the job — City Councilors Shannon Turk and Melissa Smith — as well as Georerl Niles, who is Chair of the Camas Parking Commission (a volunteer position).

A 2011 city resolution requires the council to interview them all.

“We have seven on council and so the five remaining council members will decide who becomes the next mayor,”said Camas City Administrator, Pete Capell. “They will interview all the candidates with pre-prepared questions. We’ve always asked the candidates to sit in another room during their opponents’ interviews. They’re interviewed in public and then the council will go to executive session. They will work it out until a candidate has a majority.”

Applications were due Friday, October 26, and the special interview meeting is scheduled for November 14. There will be a public swearing-in at the council on November 19. The new mayor will complete the existing term, and then run again next Fall.

Once the mayor position is filled, a similar process will unfold for the vacant council seat, if the council selects one of the two council candidates.

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Biennial Budget

“The biennial budget has been a long time coming, and it’s starting to solidify,” said Capell. “We got direction from council on their preferences. We know what we’re going to put together for public hearing. But, it’s always subject to change right to the end.”

By statute, the biennial budget has to be adopted the first week in December. Getting there, the city will hold a public hearing on November 19, and the council will act on the final budget on December 3.

The two outstanding issues are with the firefighters, and Capell said: “We’re really the only city in Clark County that doesn’t use utility taxes as a general funding measure. So there was discussion about using our reserves (because they’re healthy) but we can take 1 percent property tax levy and determine the millage rate and apply that to new construction and that becomes the new levy amount — it’s added to prior year’s levy. Or we could diversify our revenue to use the utility tax. The council doesn’t want the utility tax. We have a good understanding of what we need to do.”

The city is responding to public outcry about lack of firefighters so the new deal on the table is adding two new firefighter paramedics, two new firefighter EMTs, and one deputy fire marshall.

“Our partner in Washougal cannot afford their 40 percent share of those five positions, so we’re doing an addendum to our intra-city agreement,” said Capell. “Camas will pay for those five positions, and Washougal will make best effort to pay as soon as possible. The Fire Marshall’s office expense is $130,000 in first year, including the cost of a new vehicle. Salary and benefits total $92,000.”

Council

Firefighter Josh Proctor addresses the Camas City Council on May 21.

Currently, the firefighter paramedics/EMTs will cost $459,000 in salary and benefits. The likely cost will go down to $400,000, Capell said.

“This is a different year because of the new construction, and the forecasts with new employers coming in,” Capell said. “These large capital projects, along with the sales tax increases. We’re in a better revenue position since I’ve been here — which is going on five years. Some of it is one-time money that enables us to buy a vehicle or new technology. We have a policy of maintaining 17 percent reserves in the budget, which is two months of operating budget. We’re looking at 29 percent at the end of this year. We’re pretty healthy. We’re hiring more people than we’ve ever added in any year. Part of it is we’re catching up. We’ve gone 20 years with few additions to staff. Adding two police officers, one police records clerk, an engineer, two people in streets. And two people in Parks maintenance over the biennium.”

New Pool Site

Given the closure of the Crown Park Pool, and diminishing public access to the Lacamas Athletic Club pool, the city has been under pressure to build a new pool complex to meet growing recreational, competitive, and health needs.

For the past couple of months, an advisory committee has been meeting to assess best venues and programs to build a new aquatics complex/community center. In those meetings, the committee has analyzed multiple sites and has narrowed down its search to two locations: a 7-acre site near Burger King off Highway 14 (not far from the Camas-Washougal Marina), and a 28-acre Georgia-Pacific Research and Development site on 6th Avenue (by Young’s Deli).

The city has been doing environmental reviews on the GP site, looking to validate if it’s worth public money to purchase the site, which will also help determine market value. There are utility costs, as well.

“It’s obviously tied to the community center because I think there are other public benefits to that site,” said Capell. “We would like to control redevelopment of the site so it’s good for the community in the long term. It’s connected to downtown and has a lot possibilities.”

 

General Obligation Bond

The city will be issuing bonds by end of November and has some of the property north of Lacamas Lake already in negotiations. Most of the money they will raise is being used to preserved forested land near the shore line along with open spaces, which amounts to 120 acres.

Explore How Camas Funds Fire Department in the Long Term

Camas is also looking at the current city service model to determine the the best way to manage the Fire Department. Because it’s a merged department with Camas and Washougal, they have a joint committee that is exploring funding options and seeks to update the intra-local agreement.

“There’s a large body of work looking into how we best deliver these services in the long term,” said Capell.

GP Donated Property

GP donated land by the two dams, a mill ditch and a couple of parcels that are off Washougal River near the mill property. It’s open space and Camas will be maintaining the dams once the transfer closes, and they will apply for grants for those donated properties. The plan is to fill the mill ditch and create a new pedestrian/bicycle route, which will create a nice connection to downtown.

“This is why I’m passionate about the GP site for the pool/community center,” said Capell. “It’ll connect several properties throughout downtown.”

City

Plans for the donates GP property.

Ordinance — A City of Camas Business License

Businesses in Camas do require a state license, but currently Camas doesn’t require a city business license. Having a business license would require the adoption of an ordinance to get it installed by 2020. It’s not a money maker, but will requite a nominal fee, that will the city a better understanding of what businesses are operating in Camas — to make sure sales tax generated in Camas doesn’t go to other places.

Car License Tab Fee

The City Council agreed to delay this until April 2019.

“I’m excited about the revenue generated from that,” said Capell. “It goes to two things: 1) Neighborhood traffic — to have funds to do some speed studies and fix local problems, and; 2) People are willing to pay more for road maintenance and road preservation.”

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CYAC Forum: Responses From Candidates Vick and Thobaben

On October 22, the Camas Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) hosted a forum at Camas Theatre for political candidates vying for four separate offices — the third Washington Congressional District, Clark County Council Chair, and two Washington State Legislative Districts (18th, positions 1 and 2).

This article focuses on the responses between Republican State Representative Brandon Vick and challenger Democrat Chris Thobaben, who are running for the LD 18, position 1 seat in the Washington State House of Representatives. Vick is currently in his third term.

At the forum, each answered a series of questions composed by the CYAC students.

The council opened with a topic very real to students, asking the candidates if they believed the McCleary decision over educators’ salaries was a fix.

Vick affirmed that McCleary made sense, calling it a very good piece of legislation. He also said that salaries were funded as ordered, saying they gave a “big pot of money” to each district to distribute as they wished. Thobaben replied that McCleary was designed to be a fix, but that people did not realize its complexities. He emphasized that teachers are professionals and need to be paid as such.

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The next question addressed the levels of transparency in Legislature. Thobaben recalled being on the campaign trail and getting more calls from lobbyists than constituents. He called for complete transparency, saying he wished that everyone could watch as legislation is written to understand the process. Vick discussed looking at Senate Bill 6617, dealing with transparency in government, and how he decided that it was better than the preexisting bill. He also said there needs to be more flexibility in the matter, saying “Open and transparent makes sense to me.”

The third question addressed the second amendment and gun control. Vick was sure that the issue would be one going back and forth for years to come. However, he did not believe in denying one group of people a right. He also asserted that some people still hunt to eat, making guns a necessary tool. Thobaben said that responsible gun owners treat their weapons with respect, and that mass shooters have not been taught how to properly take care of arms. He also advocated for guns being locked up at all times to prevent easy access and avert potential disasters.

Both candidates thanked CYAC for putting together the forum. Thobaben closed with a call for young people to get involved in politics, and Vick ended with a promise to bring big companies and jobs to the area.

By Riley Kankelberg, Camas High School

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Camas School District Faces $3.2 Million Budget Deficit — This Year

Camas, WA — At Monday’s Camas School Board Meeting, Jason McEathron, Director of Business Services for the Camas School District (CSD), addressed the $3.2 million budget deficit the district faces in this current school year, and his plans to form a budget committee to resolve the issue.

“The anticipated budget deficit is $3,212,141 by end of this school year,” said McEathron. “Expenditures are also trending above our initial budget. Labor costs are higher than expected at $4.9 million.”

He said the fiscal issues are primarily a result of the new funding model mandated by the State Legislature — issues that CSD has been open about for months.

Other contributing factors are headcount (which is 2.7 percent higher than budgeted) and Running Start (which is 25.5 percent higher than budgeted).

CSD warned in August that a 3.1 percent teacher pay raise would create deficits, and likely cause layoffs in 2-3 years. Teachers received 9.3 – 12.6 percent pay increases in their negotiated settlement, which last for two years.

At the time, Camas Education Association (CEA) negotiator, Mark Gardner, called it “a scare tactic by the District.” CSD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Snell defended the numbers and has been meeting with schools and the public for months alerting them of the projected deficit. The new funding model cuts the CDS levying capacity by 50 percent, which will result in a nearly $5 million loss within 12 months.

McEathron said expenditures currently outpace revenues, but this is typical during start-up of a new school year. A full end-year report is due by the end of this week.

“We are looking for other areas to sharpen the pencil to adjust the budget,” said McEathron. “We will work to shrink the deficit down. We can’t dip into fund balance because that’s not sustainable.”

To address the deficit, McEathron is creating a public budget committee.

“So, we really want to have a budget committee that involves stakeholders,” said McEathron. “Let’s shed the light on this and let’s work together as a community. We will do this together.”

He said other similar districts across the state are dealing with these same issues. The state is currently $600-900 million short of fully funding education statewide, and that will hit in the 2019-20 school year.

The district will be on the front end of dealing with the state budget, and will work with OPSI, the Governor’s office, and the Legislature, which McEathron said is dealing with a McCleary hangover.

State Representative Brandon Vick, LD-18, responded to the issue in a private interview at the Camas Youth Advisory Council Candidate (CYAC) Candidate Forum.

“The Legislature feels we’ve done our job by fully funding education as mandated by the Supreme Court,” said Vick. “There isn’t much appetite right now to address this. I voted against the bigger McCleary law because I knew it would cause this problem, but I did vote for the fix, which we passed earlier this year.”

About 30 minutes later, Vick publicly said the following at the forum:

“We dealt with McCleary. I voted against the first law. McCleary is a big bill. Does McCleary get the job done? The answer is yes. This was a very good piece of legislation. I think what we did made a lot of sense. We funded McCleary to those salary numbers that were recommended.”

Candidates at the forum were asked about McCleary, and several citizens responded afterward that they wished the candidates for the State offices would have had more to say about the issues the legislation is causing.

McEathron expects to have the CSD budget committee started in November.

 

Deficit

CSD is forming a special Budget Committee to address a $3.2 million deficit.

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Lacamas Magazine is Officially on Apple News! A New Option to Get Updates

Camas, WA — Lacamas Magazine is officially part of Apple News!

What does this mean? Well, each time we post an article from our main website, www.LacamasMagazine.com, and if you subscribe to Apple News (and us) you will receive automatic updates through your Apple News feed. The service is available to consumers who use iPhones, iPads, iMacs, etc.

To sign up, do the following:

  1. Go to this link: Lacamas Magazine on Apple News — Or click on the Apple News App on your device.
  2. In the Search Field, type “Lacamas Magazine.”
  3. Then click on the heart icon to subscribe. It’s that simple!

As we continue to grow — thanks to viewers like — this new endeavor helps expand our presence and reach, and puts us in line with local news cycles from other news outlets like Fox12, OregonLive.com, and many others.

We appreciate all the work by our business partner, Ransom Collective. Please provide feedback.

We are also in Pilot for Google News for our Android users, and will have more information about that in about eight weeks.

 

Apple

Access via iPhone.

About Us

LACAMAS MAGAZINE was launched in 2012 driven by our passion for journalistic excellence seeking real stories about real people. We’ve interviewed mayors, state representatives, a Chamber of Commerce President, CEOs, school principals, city councilors, teachers, athletes, students, pastors, and kids! We’ve discovered fascinating accounts of triumph and tragedy, stamina and strength, hard work, and determination.

We endeavor to share your stories and to publish original and compelling features. With the rise of social media, information has become a recycling of content. We are determined to pursue a higher path.

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Arts Ambassador Scholarship Recipients Honored at Black Pearl

Washougal, WA — The 2018 Arts Ambassador Scholarship recipients were honored at the recent Enspire Arts Celebration Gala, which was held Saturday at the Black Pearl. The Arts Ambassador Scholarship Program is a newly established program offering $500 scholarships towards instruction in any art form and available for students in grades 6-12 throughout Clark County.

Each recipient of a scholarship will provide an arts based community gift to serve the residents of Clark County. Enspire Arts sought students dedicated to their craft, having a strong desire to keep learning and a motivation to enrich the lives of others. Some students have already had several years of study and some are just beginning their formal instruction. Yet, in all of them there is potential to make a positive and meaningful contribution to the community of Clark County.

Aaron Greene is a senior at Union High School and his community gift will be creating a Peer to Peer String Instruction Program to support the school’s orchestra, as well as provide free lessons to those that may otherwise not have access.  In its first year, the program will have 4 tutors, serving 10 students.

Zoe Hill is an 8th grade student at Jemtegaard Middle School and her community gift will be Reaching Others Through Art.  Zoe will be creating a series of comic drawings highlighting the mental dialogue associated with certain mental conditions. This artwork has the potential to open the doors for discussion with local youth and the challenges they are facing.

Zayah Shore is a 7th grade student at Liberty Middle School and her community gift will be Sharing the Love of Music.  Zayah is zealous to encourage young students to give music a try. She plans to visit elementary classrooms to share what it’s like to learn a new instrument and to encourage kids not to be a afraid of a challenge.  

Zachary Lipinski is a junior at Heritage High School and his community gift will be Connecting with Others Through Music.  Zachary’s love of music has drawn him to want to become an orchestra teacher. Zachary will be providing free public music performances around Clark County.

Cassidy Watson is a junior at Camas High School and her community gift will be The Joy of Dance.  Cassidy is a talented young dancer and is excited at the opportunity to share her joy of dance with others.  Cassidy will be offering three contemporary dance workshops to youth around Clark County.

For more information regarding Enspire Arts, their programs, ways to get involved and making a donation, please see www.enspirearts.org

The 2019 Arts Ambassador Scholarship application period will open March 2019.

Ambassado

From left: Aaron Greene, Zayah Shore, Cassidy Watson, Zoe Hill, and Zachary Lipinski.

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State Superintendent Pushes For Capital Gains Tax To Remedy Deficits

Washington state Superintendent Chris Reykdal announced a capital gains tax in his 2019-21 budget Tuesday, which addresses the funding gyrations and looming budget deficits in many districts across the state as a result of the new public school funding model.

Capital

Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal.

His proposal includes additional funding for students with special needs, nurses and dual language programs, which have historically been unfunded by the state, requiring local districts to implement levies.

“Our students deserve an education system that does not allow opportunity gaps to persist,” Reykdal said in a statement. “That can only happen if our system provides equitable opportunities and individual learning pathways for each student.”

Reykdal’s budget proposal is funded by an 8 percent long-term capital gains tax that would raise $1 billion annually. His goal is to reduce the state property tax by 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This would affect approximately 53,000 households. Single filers who earn $25,000 from capital gains annually or couples who make more than $50,000 will be taxed.

Jewelry

www.michaelnutterjewelry.com

Would it affect sales of residences? No, said Reykdal.

The objective is to reduce the burden on homeowners so school districts can increase levies as they’ve done in the past.

The state legislature, in their response to the McCleary Supreme Court decision, capped the amount of levy money schools could collect to whichever was less: $2,500 per student or $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. This decision reduced Camas School District levy capacity by 50 percent, and is a chief cause of projected CSD deficits. Districts all over the state are dealing with similar issues, which Reykdal readily admits.

“Without critical changes, the reduction in levies will leave some districts in a very tough financial situation,” Reykdal said in a statement.

The rest of the capital gains tax would go towards these public school funding areas:

  • $150 million for special education
  • $46 million for mentoring and professional learning
  • $45 million for career and technical education
  • $38 million for institutional education
  • $38 million for counselors
  • $20 million for dual credit programs
  • $14 million for dual language programs
  • $13 million for nurses
  • $13 million for mental health and school safety
  • $10 million for expanded learning opportunities
  • $9 million for family and community coordinators

Reykdal’s plans has critics from both Republicans and Democrats.

“The capital gains tax is basically an income tax,” said Clark County Assessor, Peter Van Nortwick. “If we have one Fisher Investments will be gone. You let a new tax in and it expands. The State brings enough in sales and other taxes.”

Retiring State Representative Liz Pike thinks it’s a terrible idea that tries to fix bad legislation with more bad legislation.

”School districts should not have given raises they had no way to pay for,” said Pike. “It was financially irresponsible. I’ve said all along the WEA orchestrated these strikes with Democrat operatives in order to justify a new state income tax. The Capital Gains Tax proposed by OSPI Reykdal is a back door to a new state income tax.”

The capital gains tax was floated by Governor Inslee two years ago, and most recently by House Democrats in this last budget cycle.

“I’m opposed to any new tax structure,” said candidate Larry Hoff, a Republican who is running for the 18th Legislative District, Position 2 seat. “McCleary needs to be fully implemented prior to suggesting that major changes are necessary.”

Hoff’s opponent is also against the capital gains tax.

“I’m disappointed in his proposal,” said Kathy Gillespie, a Democrat who is running for the open 18th, Position 2 Legislative District seat. “It ignores the huge property tax increase passed in 2017 and also ignores the levy swipe contained in that deal. After a summer of strikes and sky-high property tax bills to boot, I don’t think taxpayers will have an appetite for another ‘fix’. The idea has been around for a while. It’s not new, and it’s still a bad idea.”

 

 

 

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Camas Youth Group Preparing for Upcoming Candidate Forum

Camas, WA — Camas High School and members of the Camas Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) are preparing their 16th annual Candidate Forum, which will take place on Monday, October 22 at 7 pm in the Camas High School Theatre. The public is invited and your participation is encouraged.

CYAC is a Camas High School organization dedicated to educating students and others about the politics taking place in Camas and throughout our community.

“We are sure that you are aware that the national, state, and local elections will soon be upon us, and we encourage you to become involved with CYAC’s sixteenth annual Candidate Forum held at the Camas High School auditorium,” said CYAC in a statement. “The Candidate Forum is a great way for members of the community to hear the opinions and ideas of their political representatives. In past years, we have had many influential candidates attend the forum, which has been significantly beneficial to aiding voters in the decision-making process.”

This year, the forum is bringing together candidates running for the following seats: U.S. Representative for Washington’s 3r​d​ District; Washington State Representatives from the 18th​ District, positions 1 2; and County Commissioner for District 3.

The council is expecting to have the participation of Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, her opponent, Carolyn Long; State Representative Brandon Vick, his opponent, Chris Tobaben (running for 18th LD, position 1); Larry Hoff and Kathy Gillespie (running for 18th LD, position 2, a seat which is currently being held the retiring, Liz Pike; as well as Eric Holt and Eileen Quiring (running for Clark County Commissioner).

 

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Washougal: Kindness Matters, Students Honor Parkland Shooting Victims

Vancouver, WA — At their annual ESD 112 Principals’ Meeting, a group of Washougal students presented the results of their April Kindness campaign, which was done to honor victims of February’s Parkland shooting massacre, and to remind people to treat each other with respect.

The five students, who attend Washougal High School, representing the Unite! Washougal Youth Community Coalition, reported on the origins of the campaign, its activities, and its statistical results.

ShaylaRae Tyner explained the campaign’s origins, which are rooted in this writer’s relationship with Ryan Petty, whose daughter, Alaina, was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

“The editor [at Lacamas Magazine] had a personal connection with the Parkland incident, and he wrote an article, which later led our mayor [Molly Coston] make April the month of kindness, which brought kindness into our community and into our schools.”

Kindness

http://tvc.org/meet-jen

Leaders of the Unite! Washougal Youth Community Coalition reacted to the mayor’s proclamation and created a special kindness campaign that had significant local impact.

”We created a project called Kindness Week for our school and community to promote thoughtfulness and care,” said Amara Farah. “We created three major goals with this opportunity and we wanted to promote positive action and give people a reason to smile. We wanted to create some source of community after the Parkland impact, and our Mayor declared April Kindness month and we wanted to include the entire community by providing fun activities and random acts of kindness.”

Over the course of a few weeks, the group created a series of fun lunchtime activities designed to get people connected and to put kindness at the forefront of their daily lives.

”From the first day to the last we only saw an increase in participation,” said Rachel Lyall. “With our school principal saying in a time in our society when the norm is to criticize and blame, kindness week modeled the complete opposite.”

Chloe Connors said the activities included a compliment battle, and at Friday’s meeting the students showed the principals a brief skit on how the compliment battle worked, where students tried to out do compliments with each other. The also reported on their kindness boards where people wrote good thoughts. The team created hula hoop competitions that became quite popular. Students filled out smile grams to lift each other up — which increased over the campaign.

Kindness

The team honored the students and teachers who were killed and injured in the February Parkland, FL shooting.

There was great enthusiasm from fellow students about continuing these types of activities throughout the year. WHS does plan to continue these kindness campaigns, and Kurtis Villareal said they witnessed groups of kids who never spoke to one another start to open up and communicate.

Villareal reported on the statistical findings before and after the campaign.

”We sent out a survey at the beginning of our kindness week, and at the end because we wanted to know if our students at WHS thought we had a positive culture,” said Villareal. “When we sent this out most people didn’t think that we were so positive, but with the all the activities we saw a big increase in the school culture being positive, which is really awesome.”

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City of Camas Accepting Applications for New Mayor — Thru Oct. 26

Camas, WA — The City of Camas is now accepting applications from Camas residents to fill the position of mayor. The deadline to apply is Oct. 26, 2018, 5 pm.

The City Council will hold a special meeting on Nov. 14, 2018, at 4:30 pm, in Camas City Hall, 616 N.E. Fourth Ave., for conducting candidate interviews. Special meetings are open to the public, but public comment may not be submitted. An executive session and council vote will follow. The appointee will take the oath of office at the next regular meeting of the City Council, scheduled for Nov. 19, 2018.

The appointee’s term is anticipated to run from Nov. 19, 2018, through Dec. 2, 2019, the remainder of former mayor Scott Higgins’ term. On June 11, 2018, Higgins announced his resignation, effective Sept. 30, 2018, to spend more time with family. Higgins served Camas for 17 years, first as a City Councilor. Council Member Don Chaney is currently serving as mayor pro tempore.

Candidates must reside in the City of Camas, have been a resident of the City of Camas for at least one year prior to the mayor appointment, and a be registered voter of the City of Camas.

For details and an application, see https://www.cityofcamas.us/images/ADMIN/CamasMayorApplicationInstructionsInfo2018.pdf

Hoff

www.MyHeavensBest.com

 

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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.

VancouverLaser

www.VancouverLaserSkinCareClinic.com

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

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

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