SIX- Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday. February 21, 1996
HOME RULE:
DO YO U UN D ER STAN D IT?
BECAUSE TH E C O U N TY OFFICIALS
W H O DRAFTED TH IS B A LLO T
EV ID EN TLY DON'T!
MEASURE 2 5 -1 9
HOME RULE GOVERNMENT FOR
MORROW COUNTY
«.U 1 I
4-"
I.
Shall Morrow County adopt a “ HOME RULE”
form of government consisting of a Board of
Commissioners and a County Administrator?
Oregon law provides that a County may adopt
a “ HOME RULE” charter as an alternative to our
traditional form of County Government. Current­
ly, a Judge and 2 Commissioners are the gover­
ning body. Under the proposed “ HOME RULE”
charter, those positions would be eliminated
upon expiration. The Clerk, Assessor, and
Treasurer positions would be appointed and the
Sheriff and Justice of the Peace would remain
elected positions. The appointed positions would
serve under an administrator who in turn would
serve 5 commissioners that would be elected at
large.
Th€y fail to mention that Morrow County's "traditional
form o f County Government" is that o f a Statutory
County in the State o f Oregon. This means that when
we became a county over IOO years ago, the State
mandated the form our County Government would
take. However, the State has also allowed counties
the option o f becoming Home Rule Counties by
adopting a County Home Rule Charter. This charter is
similar to a Constitution, or Articles o f Incorporation,
fo r other governmental entities.
A Statutory County is first and foremost an agent o f
the state. State statutes specifically define the
structure o f county government, which county officials
shall be elected, and what services the county shall
provide to it's citizens.
A Home Rule County, on the other hand, is an
independent entity. It's citizens have the power to
define, by charter, the most effective and efficient
structure for their County Government.
2.
. m l *»iuoir
T t
YES*
NO «
They state that "the Clerk, Assessor, and Treasurer
positions would be appointed". The proposed Home
Rule Charter for Morrow County does not state that
these positions will be appointed. It simply makes
them, along with the Surveyor, non-elected positions.
This gives the Board o f Commissioners the authority
to determine the structure o f County Government.
For example. The Board o f Commissioners could
determine that the most efficient and effective form o f
County Government does not require six separate
departments to perform the functions o f Treasurer,
Tax Collector. Finance Director, Assessor, Clerk and
County Court. As a Statutory County we can't make
that choice, but as a Home Rule County we can.
3.
They state that the current three County Commissioner
positions would be eliminated upon expiration o f their
term. In fact the proposed Charter would broaden
representation from throughout the county by creating
two additional County Commissioner positions.
D O N 'T BE C O N FU SED -
V O T E Y G S FO R HOM E RULE
YGS
V O TE Y G S
V O TE
*rr
FO R LOCAL CO NTROL
FO R M EASUR E 25-19
MORROW COUNTY DESERVES HOME RULE P.A.C.
P O. BOX 612 HEPPNER. OR 9 7 8 3 6