After lengthy discussions Tuesday, the board tasked with writing a charter to govern Clark County voted on several divisive issues.
Those decisions were about how the electorate would vote for county commissioners; how much each member of the county’s five-person board would be paid; and whether a county employee could also hold a partisan elective office.
Four of the five commissioners would run in individual districts in both the primary and general elections, while the chair of the board would be elected by a vote of the entire county.
A proposal that was floated earlier in the year called for Clark County to be divided into five districts instead of the current three. Each of the five districts would be represented by a commissioner, and each commissioner would have to be elected by the entire county in the general election.
Another early concept for electing county commissioners called for two at-large positions. But that idea was scrapped after some freeholders said it would create an imbalance on the board.
While some freeholders, such as Jim Mains, called Tuesday’s decision a compromise, others were more skeptical.
“I remain convinced that all the councilmembers should be elected countywide,” said Sheriff Garry Lucas, who also sits on the freeholder board.
The board also reiterated a previous decision to slash the commissioners’ salaries in half, to $53,000 a year. That move was taken to signify that under the proposed charter, the five county commissioners would be considered part-time county councilmembers.
Not all the freeholders agreed with the decision, though, which was why it was readdressed at Tuesday’s meeting.
Freeholder Marc Boldt, himself a former county commissioner, said he thought $53,000 a year was too low.
“A county commissioner needs to know everything about everything, especially about growth management,” Boldt said. If they worked only part-time, he added, the elected board members could end up hiring more support staff to assist with policy decisions, which would ultimately cost the county more.
By and large, however, the freeholders were on board with dropping the salaries, saying they were commensurate with a part-time position.
On top of those decisions, freeholders agreed to add a provision to the charter that would disallow any county employee from holding a partisan elective office. That language is a direct reaction to the county’s hiring last May of state Sen. Don Benton to oversee the department of environmental services. That decision was seen as a controversial move.
Nan Henricksen, chairwoman of the freeholders board, said Tuesday’s decisions are final. The freeholders board has entered its last month of work and needs to have a charter written by mid-May.
Voters will be asked to adopt or reject the charter in November. The most drastic changes call for adding two members to the county’s board, stripping them of some powers and installing a county manager, who would have more direct oversight of the day-to-day operations of the county than the current county administrator.
