Clallam County subcommittee advances draft charter amendment to create ethics review board

A Clallam County Charter Review Commission subcommittee moved to refine and fast-track a draft charter amendment to create an ethics review board, after members debated conflicts of interest rules, staffing needs and potential legal costs.

The subcommittee discussed a single-sentence charter provision drafted in-session — "The county shall have an ethics review board" — and agreed to work this week to produce a step-1 draft for the full Charter Review Commission packet. Members scheduled a follow-up subcommittee meeting for Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m. to finalize language for the packet that must be prepared by the county clerk’s office later that week.

The meeting centered on how an ethics board would operate, who would qualify to serve, and what due process and legal representation the county would have to provide if a complaint is filed. Commissioner Jeff Tozer advocated narrowing the subcommittee’s immediate focus to creating a board and agreed to abandon a separate proposal that would bar county elected officials from serving on nonprofit boards in order…