Charter revisions will be on the ballot
By Terry Murry on Friday, August 4th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners has approved placing two revisions to the charter on the ballot. The Charter Revision Committee met and has recommended only two changes, both dealing with the sheriff of Umatilla County.
One would change the minimum age for a sheriff from 21 to 25. Commissioner John Shafer said that currently, the position only requires either four years of law enforcement service or two years of advanced study after high school graduation.
The other would require that the sheriff be a resident of Umatilla County. Shafer said he’s surprised the residency requirement wasn’t already in the charter, since it is for commissioners.
“I’m shocked that that wasn’t already a requirement,” Shafer said. “Commissioner (Dan) Dorran said that multiple charter review committees, including one he sat on, didn’t catch it either.
The board could have either chosen to ignore one or both of the recommendations. That was not the case with these two proposals. The vote was unanimous.
“Any change has to go on a ballot to the voters,” he said. “The citizens of Umatilla County have a say in whether they agree with those changes or not.” Due to time constraints, the charter revision recommendations will not be on the November ballot. Instead, voters will be asked to decide in May 2024.
