The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

By City Clerk, Randy Hinchliffe

I am sure many of you have noticed by now the stretch of land being developed at the eastern edge of the City. Mild temperatures in December and January prompted the City to start work on a road project to straighten out Taggart Road from its current position to the highway as a means to improve traffic safety and access in that area. At this time, the contractor has moved out for a month or so to hopefully give the ground some time to dry out before they start placing rock on it in preparation for chip sealing later this spring/summer.

With changes to the State Voting Rights Act, the City is looking into finally changing the City Election process as a means to move away from annual elections in April to better align with the general election laws of the state. Annual elections are expensive, ineffective and don’t allow for long-term planning for the City. Rest assured that this change, if approved, does not eliminate the City’s Charter; in fact, a lot of the Charter has already been eliminated, consolidated or modernized to help with City operations at different points in our history or to comply with various state regulations. In the end, there is only one way to do away with the Charter, and it takes an act of the state legislature do so as we are codified under RCW 35.30. Without a direct request from the City and one of our local legislators willing to sponsor a bill to make a change, our Charter will remain in effect for the foreseeable future