EVERETT — Voters decided last fall to bring Snohomish County government closer to the people.
But the people, by and large, haven’t shown up.
An amendment voters passed in November as part of the county’s charter review process required the County Council to host at least one evening meeting per year in each of the five council districts.
When council members ventured out to District 3 last month, a mere three people from the general public made it to Edmonds City Council chambers. That number excludes government staff and the news media.
Things improved slightly Monday, when the County Council met at Mill Creek City Hall: The audience grew to four. They were outnumbered by elected officials.
“Right now, we’re just starting out these meetings,” Councilman Nate Nehring said. “We’ve only had two. As the public becomes more aware that the meetings are taking place, I think more people will show up.”
Nehring and his colleagues should soon see whether that bears out. The next evening meeting is likely to get booked in his district next month, probably in Marysville. He plans to highlight any agenda items of local relevance.
Unlike local city councils, which typically meet on weeknights, the County Council does most of its business on weekday mornings. That includes regular meetings in downtown Everett on Mondays and Wednesdays. That makes it tricky for many people with day jobs to attend.
That disconnect was on the minds of 15 elected commissioners who met last year to draft potential changes to the structure of county government.
Snohomish County is one of seven charter counties in Washington. The county enacted its charter in 1980 and, starting in 1986, amended it once every 10 years. Charter commissioners drafted seven potential changes last year. Voters passed all but one.
Four of the changes require reworking county code in addition to the charter. The council has scheduled a hearing at 10:30 a.m. May 17 to consider changes.
In addition to the night meetings in council districts, the other changes on the hearing agenda include: enshrining the county’s Human Rights Commission into the charter so it isn’t subject to repeal; replacing the county’s Ombudsman’s Office with the Office of the Public Advocate; and clarifying procedures for appointing and confirming top-level county directors.
The council has marched ahead with district meetings, even as it tinkers with code language. There’s a $5,360 budget this year to cover expenses such as travel, meeting-room rentals and overtime for hourly staff.
Martha Miller was one of the few who made it out to Mill Creek on Monday to better understand county government. The evening meeting closer to home made it possible.
“I was really shocked to find out that they meet weekdays in the mornings,” Miller said.
She relocated to the area a couple of years ago from Louisiana. She has a particular interest in how county leaders expect to manage the rapid pace of development in her unincorporated neighborhood outside Mill Creek city limits, where she has a son in elementary school and a daughter in preschool.
“The county is really big,” she said, noting that the issues that affect her are likely different from those important to people in far-north Snohomish County.
Councilman Sam Low, of Lake Stevens, said the district meetings also benefit elected officials by putting them in touch with constituents from other areas.
“We represent the entire county,” he said. “It’s important to get to the other districts and to hear from the constituents from other districts. I think that’s a great thing.”
Low’s area is District 5 in east Snohomish County. If he remains in office in years to come, he hopes to schedule meetings in each of the 10 or more cities and unincorporated communities that make up his district.
For June, he’s shooting for somewhere in the unincorporated area east of Everett’s Silver Lake.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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