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they're are doing. In the National Association of Counties, the Council Manager is one
<br />of the most popular forms of government. Seems to work the best in a lot of different
<br />areas. In that, you touched on the single member districts, and the six -three, and
<br />having the - One model that we have, the largest vote getter is the Mayor, and then the
<br />Council hires the Managing Director, but we have something like 15 models that we're
<br />working our way through, kind of looking at what would work best. I think our major
<br />goal is to make government more efficient and more responsive to the public so that we
<br />can have more involvement, especially with Boards and Commissions which has
<br />been a universal. But we are now on the web with our minutes, and we'd encourage
<br />all of the League of Women Voters to go and look at our minutes, to look at what we've
<br />been discussing. Wednesday, we discussed the Department of Public Safety. We
<br />discussed having the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Emergency
<br />Services, all under one department with one Commission. I don't know whether that's
<br />something that's good. I know other people try it, then they move back and forth. But,
<br />that's a discussion, so we would encourage all of you to really look at the discussions
<br />that we're having and see what information you can give us.
<br />ISBELL: Okay, thank you very much. I'd like to respond to that. First of all,
<br />your comment about we have to forget the past, look at the future. I'm saying to you
<br />that the problem we've had is that we have not learned from the past, and if we're not
<br />going to look at the past and learn from it, then what is it all about? We're only talking
<br />about ten years, too. In ten years, your Charter will be amended again. We're not
<br />talking about something that's 50 to 100 years, and it's forever, but we do have to move
<br />very carefully, and very slowly, on the type of change that you're talking about. If
<br />you've got 15 different models, and one hasn't come out clearly as the top one, then
<br />obviously, everybody has a different idea on what representation really means. But I
<br />would certainly be thinking, also, about what you can sell to the public. Are they ready
<br />for this? Do they hear it the same as you? When it comes to the vote, you've got to
<br />get this passed through on a vote, as an Amendment to the Charter, and so it has to be
<br />presented in a way that is acceptable to the local people. But they have long memories,
<br />except for certain things.
<br />MARTIN: Point of clarification.
<br />RAY: Marni, are you finished?
<br />HERKES; Yes.
<br />MARTIN: Just a point of clarification, if I may. The Charter is our Charter,
<br />per se, the County, not just this committee up here, so the statement that you made that
<br />our Charter will be re -looked at in ten years, you're correct, but it's everybody's
<br />Charter, not just ours.
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