VANCOUVER, Wash. - Clark County voters will see hefty ballots in November, with residents asked to weigh in on 10 changes to how local government operates, including one amendment that could make it significantly harder for elected leaders to raise taxes, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
A slim majority of the county's charter review commission, which convenes every five years to amend the local version of a constitution, voted 8-7 at a July 8 public meeting to back a change requiring a county council supermajority of two-thirds to raise existing local taxes or levy new ones. With only five council members, a two-thirds majority effectively means four-fifths, or 80 percent, of the council.
Chuck Green, who was elected to the previous charter review commission in 2021 and is known in the community as "Charter Chuck," said he was not surprised by the decision but believes the current commission is wading too deep into policymaking waters. "If you don't like the decisions the County Council makes, elect new county councilors," he wrote in a memo to the commission ahead of the vote.
At the meeting, several public commenters voiced concerns that the amendment would undermine democracy and create gridlock by giving a conservative minority on the council the power to shut down tax increases. Supporters pushed back. "We need the council to put more thought in before raising taxes," La Center resident Darlene Kulla said during the meeting. "We are not against taxes, we're against extra taxes."
Clark County is one of seven counties in Washington with "home rule" status, adopted in 2014, which allows the county to periodically change the rules of local government outlined in its charter without explicit state permission. If voters approve the supermajority amendment, Clark County would become only the second home rule county in the state with such a requirement, after Pierce County, where the threshold amounts to five of seven council votes, or 71 percent.
Most of the other nine proposals are described as straightforward measures aimed at improving government transparency and effectiveness. All 10 charter amendments on the ballot will need a simple majority of votes to pass.