PORT ANGELES – Jim Jones thinks Clallam County is getting good government on the cheap. Jones, county administrator since July, said the county charter ought to tie salaries and wages to a state-mandated scale for judges, which includes an escalator clause.
He made the recommendation to the county Charter Review Commission.
The group is comprised of 15 citizens, called freeholders, who convene every five years to review the county charter, or constitution.
The freeholders’ recommended changes will be put to voters in the general election that ends Nov. 6.
Freeholders had invited Jones and the three county commissioners to their meeting, meaning to query them on issues such as part-time or full-time commissioners and an elected administrator.
They seemed startled when Jones said, “It is my opinion that the method of determining the salaries of elected officials in Clallam County is highly political, not good government, and should be changed through the charter-review process.”
