Coos County Home Rule Study

A committee of local league members has concluded its study of County Home Rule in Oregon and the option of home rule for Coos County governance.  In the past, Coos County voted on whether to have a home rule charter, and the League couldn’t take a position on it because we didn’t have a detailed local study on the subject.  We have now completed the process of doing the research needed to be able to take a position should this topic come up again in our county.  A meeting on February 15th at the Coos Bay Library will address consensus questions for the league's position.

The scope of work included in the study included finding the differences in structure between a home rule county and a general law county which is the default governance under state law.  An example might be appointments vs elections of certain public officials.  This would also include the impacts of possible options that could be implemented under home rule, such as decision-making processes.

Coos County is currently a statutory or general law county.  Elected positions must include county commissioners, sheriff, county clerk, county assessor, county treasurer, and county surveyor.  Other requirements include adopting a budget - and appointment of a budget committee, levying taxes to pay for expenses, annually assessing property values, providing a jail, providing public health and mental health services, and many more… 

On Saturday, February 24th last year the LWVCC held a public meeting at the Dolphin Playhouse to update the membership on the progress of the Home Rule Study.  Due to technical difficulties, the committee was unable to record the meeting but have included a copy of the PowerPoint slides used in their presentation which is now available for you to view, just click on the link.

If you have any questions regarding the study or the upcoming consensus questions meeting, please contact League President, Kay Kerriden at the phone number or email address listed at the bottom of this page.