In keeping with the League’s practice to study an issue in-depth before adopting a position (if any), a study of county government was undertaken locally in 1993 and updated every few years, ending in 2005. While improvements were documented in county government function throughout these years, the League consistently advocated for appointment of a County Administrator. To quote the 2005 update:

The increasing complexity of county government, the lack of specific training for CountyCommissioners, who are responsible for annual budgets of more than fifty million dollars, and the inefficiencies of county government are the most compelling reasons for the appointment of a County Administrator.

Recently, the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution to form an Advisory Committee to review the administrative and management structure for those areas overseen by the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners and make a recommendation for restructuring those areas. Appointing a County Administrator is one of the options under consideration while implementing a County Charter is not.

Watch the Program presented by LWV Kittitas County on the work of this Executive Management Advisory Committee and its charge, featuring Washington State Association of Counties Executive Director, Eric Johnson; Kittitas County Commissioner, Cory Wright; and Committee member, Robbie Soltz. Deepest thanks to these folks for their work and for updating the League with this program.