Tenino has a mayor-council form of government, which allows the mayor to make personnel decisions, but it has been the practice of the city to go through confirmation, said Betty Garrison, city clerk-treasurer. The ordinance would put that practice into city code, Garrison added. State law allows city councils to confirm appointments of officers and employees with the passage of an ordinance.
The proposed ordinance doesn’t sit well with Mayor-elect Eric Strawn, who will take office in January. He said the city has kept him in the dark and that many in the city have reservations about his plans to investigate alleged conflicts of interest, deficiencies, leadership problems and budget issues.
“I am in favor of discussing this with council, but there’s going to have to be much more discussion on this,” he said. “I’m not even in office yet.”
Strawn defeated current Mayor Ken Jones with nearly 57 percent of the vote in November.
Councilman-elect Wayne Fournier is backing Strawn and said the proposed ordinance is anti-democratic because it takes away power from the mayor’s position, giving the council too much authority.
City Council members “are trying to restructure the entire form of government so that the regime that has been there can keep as much power as possible,” he said.
Jones, who is finishing his eighth year as mayor, declined to comment on whether the council’s decision to discuss the ordinance was a reaction to the election results.
“It’s another layer of safeguard for the city,” Jones said. “Amongst other things, it could preclude litigation.”
Tonight’s agenda includes a discussion on two current policies that require council confirmation for park and planning commission appointments and council-approved liaison and committee appointments. There are no proposed changes, and the discussion is information only, Garrison said.
Nate Hulings: 360-754-5476 nhulings@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/outsideoly
