BREMERTON – Relations between the City of Bremerton and the county just got a little contentious.
The Bremerton City Council voted unanimously to reject the Interlocal Agreement of Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council (KRCC) March 4.
The council wants to push the KRCC to adopt a more balanced voting structure.
“I had concern about the voting structure,” said Councilman Roy Runyon. “Currently, the voting structure requires that two commissioners be present and two commissioners vote in favor of whatever item is before the KRCC board of directors.”
Runyon said there have been at least two instances in recent years in which the KRCC couldn’t vote because there weren’t enough commissioners present.
Robert Gelder, chair of the Kitsap board of commissioners, disagrees with the notion that the voting structure is unfair.
“The voting structure doesn’t allow for any one group, cities or county, to unilaterally move any decision forward. Quorum for holding a meeting requires two commissioners be present,” Gelder said. “This means that the other members aren’t able to convene a meeting and pass items without the county being involved.”
He added that the commissioners have “no ability to pass anything without having at least two cities agree.”
Councilwoman Leslie Daugs, who serves on the KRCC, said the language in the current interlocal agreement doesn’t distribute power equally amongst KRCC members.
“A lot of the wording in our interlocal agreement moves a lot of the majority of the vote towards our county commissioner,” Daugs said. “And I just want to make sure that Bremerton still has a voice with KRCC as it’s an important project that we’re involved in, it’s also a good partnership for our city to be a part of.”
Gelder said the current voting structure was designed to give everyone in Kitsap County a voice.
“The voting structure was created long ago to foster balance and collaboration,” Gelder said. “Kitsap County has only three seats of the current 12 voting positions on the KRCC, yet Kitsap County is responsible for a majority of county residents.”
Runyon believes the structure isn’t operating well as it could.
“I think it’s important to kind of level the playing field and if it’s a true partnership the partnerships need to be equal,” Runyon said. “The departments need to be equal and have an equal say on board and I’m glad council’s taking this step to open this conversation up.”
While the two sides have very different views in terms of voting structure, both appear open to dialogue.
Going forward, Gelder said the KRCC needs to have conversations with the Bremerton City Council to understand their perspective and to “focus on the organization’s sustainability into the future.”
“It’s a good discussion to have – it’s very important,” said Greg Wheeler, Bremerton council president, who serves on the KRCC. “The ultimate overall goal is we move forward as a regional council and continue prioritizing and collaborating on a regional level.”
