A couple of Douglas County residents are hoping to change the way the county’s government works. They’ve filed a home rule charter initiative they hope to get on the November ballot.
Douglas County is currently run by three elected salaried commissioners. The proposed initiative would create a county manager form of government with 5 elected non-salaried commissioners. Suzanne Hall, a former county employee, is one of the petitioners. She’s concerned about the county’s financial troubles and believes this initiative would create a more effective government.
Hall says, “When you’re managing a business that’s in severe financial difficulties as the county is, managing those financial difficulties becomes a really huge job and it leaves some of the other parts out.”
Hall thinks this change would give the county board more time to represent their constituents. The five commissioners would be from specific voting precincts. The initiative has been filed with the Douglas county Clerk. If approved, it would still need 3,000 signatures to qualify for the November 2017 ballot.