Ask MRSC - Elected & Appointed Officials

Personnel policies do not typically apply to elected officials as elected officials are not considered employees for most purposes. And, as a practical matter, since most policies in an employee handbook don’t naturally apply to elected officials, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to make the entirety of the handbook applicable to the legislative body. A general personnel policy might state that elected officials are eligible for certain benefits. For instance, Benton County in Section 8.2 of its Personnel Policies and Procedures states the elected officials are eligible for insurance benefits.

You may be interested in the following MRSC resources:

• Salaries, Compensation, and Benefits for Local Elected Officials
• Elected Officials and Benefits Programs (2023)

Additionally, councils and commissions typically have their own Rules of Procedure for Local Government Governing Bodies and/or rules of conduct. They may also be bound by Local Codes of Ethics.

There are no term limits set forth in state law for local elected officials such as mayors, councilmembers, and county commissioners. There are nevertheless some local governments that have adopted ordinances providing term limits for these elected officials. Note, however, that not all local governments have authority to impose term limits. A 1991 opinion of the Attorney General,  AGO 1991 No. 22, concluded that charter counties, charter cities, and non-charter code cities have authority to adopt term limits, whereas towns, second class cities, and non-charter counties do not. Charter counties, charter cities, and non-charter code cities have “home rule authority” which means they have broader legislative powers in matters of local concern than towns, second-class cities, and non-charter counties (for more information on “home rule,” see the Seattle University Law Review article, “Home Rule” vs. “Dillon’s Rule” for Washington Cities).

MRSC does not have a comprehensive list of all the local governments in Washington State that have adopted term limits, but here are some examples: 

• Edgewood Municipal Code Sec. 2.10.015 – See term limits for mayor.
• Port Angeles Municipal Code Sec. 2.02.010 – See term limits for city council. The city has term limits for other boards, commissions, and committees, including the Public Safety Advisory Board (see Sec. 2.26.030) and Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (see Sec. 2.70.030).
• Spokane City Charter Article II – See Section 6 on qualifications for elected officials.
• Tacoma City Charter – See Article II, The Legislative Branch. Section 2.1 includes terms for city council, Section 2.3 includes terms for citizen commission on elected salaries, Section 2.4 includes terms for the mayor, Section 3.8 includes terms for planning commission, with additional terms listed in other sections.

Additional examples can be found through a Code Publishing site Google search, including examples of terms for various boards, commissions, and committees in Friday Harbor, Lacy, Lake Forest Park, Oak Harbor, Olympia, Puyallup, Rainier, Sammamish, Sequim, Westport, and Yakima. An additional example from Woodland can be found through a Municode site Google search.

Term limits imposed on state-wide elective offices by initiative were found unconstitutional in Gerberding v. Munro (1998).

No. Neither RCW 35A.13.030 nor RCW 35A.13.190 provide for the mayor of a non-charter council-manager code city to exercise a veto.

It is fairly common for cities to send newsletters to their citizens, although perhaps e-newsletters are more common now. Developing the newsletter content and format would be considered an administrative task and under the purview of the executives (city administrator, mayor), similar to the city website or city social media. Depending on the cost of the newsletter, perhaps the council could look at continuing the newsletter through the budget process or otherwise adopt a policy regarding the city newsletter.

One legal issue to be cautious about regarding city newsletters is the prohibition on using agency facilities for campaigns. So, the newsletter should not be used to support or oppose a candidate or a ballot proposition (unless it’s an objective and fair presentation of the facts relevant to the ballot proposition, and such action is part of the normal and regular conduct of the office or agency). See RCW 42.17A.555.

The board will need to include a nominated candidate or candidates in the official notice of vacancy. SSB 5437, which took effect on July 23, 2023, sets forth the new process most special purpose districts (including public hospital districts) are required to follow when filling a commissioner vacancy. Section 2 of the bill, codified at RCW 42.12.080, requires the remaining members of the governing body to nominate a candidate (or candidates) to fill the vacancy at a meeting of the district prior to issuing the notice of vacancy.

In circumstances where the district does not have any candidates in mind to nominate, it would need to solicit applicants prior to nominating a candidate(s) at a meeting and posting the official notice of vacancy pursuant to RCW 42.12.080(2). You could consider it a "call for applicants" followed by an official "notice of vacancy" once the nomination is made at a public meeting. The key will be for the notice of vacancy to include the board’s selected commissioner candidates and then provide an opportunity for registered voters in the district to suggest additional candidates for a period of at least 15 days. Thereafter, the board can select its preferred candidate. The board does not need to hold interviews prior to appointing one of these candidates, but it may do so if it chooses to.

We have examples of vacancy application forms on our Vacancies in Local Elected Offices page.

Whether there is a residency requirement for a particular city committee or commission will be a matter of local policy. RCW 35.21.200 (applicable to code cities) authorizes cities to establish residency requirements for appointed positions. It states:

Any city or town may by ordinance of its legislative authority determine whether there shall be any residential qualifications for any or all of its appointive officials or for preference in employment of its employees, but residence of an employee outside the limits of such city or town shall not be grounds for discharge of any regularly appointed civil service employee otherwise qualified: PROVIDED, That this section shall not authorize a city or town to change any residential qualifications prescribed in any city charter for any appointive official or employee: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That all employees appointed prior to the enactment of any ordinance establishing such residence qualifications as provided herein or who shall have been appointed or employed by such cities or towns having waived such residential requirements shall not be discharged by reason of such appointive officials or employees having established their residence outside the limits of such city or town: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That this section shall not authorize a city or town to change the residential requirements with respect to employees of private public utilities acquired by public utility districts or by the city or town.

We recommend looking at your city code or the ordinance or resolution establishing the committee to determine whether residency requirements have been established. MRSC also has a webpage you may find helpful on Advisory Boards and Commissions.

Yes. A councilmember does not cease being a councilmember by virtue of undertaking the additional duties of pro tempore (pro tem) to conduct a meeting in the absence of the mayor. The mayor pro tem continues to vote as a councilmember and is counted for the purpose of establishing a quorum of the governing body.

RCW 35.27.160 provides, in relevant part, that “[a] mayor pro tempore may be chosen by the council for a specified period of time, not to exceed six months, to act as the mayor in the absence of the mayor.”

RCW 35.27.280 provides that “[a] majority of the councilmembers shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business”. This statute also references the authority for the council to appoint a “president pro tempore” (mayor pro tem) to run a council meeting in the absence of the mayor.

RCW 42.30.110(1)(h) requires that interviews of candidates to fill vacant, elected positions be conducted in an open meeting. (Contrast this with interviews of candidates to fill non-elective office; these can be held in executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1)(g).) Therefore, it is not possible to legally prohibit other candidates for the vacant, elected position from attending the interviews. The OPMA does not have an exception which would allow other candidates to be excluded from the meeting room.

We have previously suggested that the council/commission could ask, but not require, that the other candidates leave the meeting room while the other candidates are being interviewed so as not to give an advantage to candidates interviewed later in the process. If some candidates still remain in the meeting room, that could be a factor considered when selecting who would make a good councilmember/commissioner.

I was unable to find trainings specific to park and recreation districts in Washington State; however, below are some resources that should be helpful:

• State Auditor’s Office (SAO): Technical Advice – Provides technical advice, including a Gov101 series for some special purpose districts, like hospital districts. You could contact them through their Contact SAO page to see if they have other resources/trainings for park and recreation districts.
• Washington Recreation & Park Association (WRPA) – May offer trainings for park and recreation districts and/or know of any.
• MRSC resources:
  • Knowing the Territory: Basic Legal Guidelines for Washington City, County and Special Purpose District Officials (2022) – Includes information on basic powers, potential conflicts and ethical guidelines, competitive bidding requirements, Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), and more for cities, counties, and special purpose districts.
  • Special Purpose Districts in Washington – Serves as a landing page for various MRSC pages on special purpose districts, including Park and Recreation Districts.
  • Comparison of Recreation Districts – Includes a good overview of various laws and functions for park and recreation districts.
  • Training – Includes upcoming events and on-demand trainings, several of which may be applicable to your work.

There are also Public Records Act (PRA) and Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) training requirements applicable to certain officials in public agencies. See RCW 42.30.205 and RCW 42.56.150. For more information, see the below resources:

• MRSC: PRA and OPMA E-Learning Courses
• Washington State Office of the Attorney General: Open Government Training

It depends. Generally, all elected officials and candidates for elected office are required to fill out a financial disclosure form (also known as the F1 form). However, RCW 42.17A.135 exempts “candidates, elected officials, and agencies in political subdivisions with fewer than two thousand registered voters as of the date of the most recent general election in the jurisdiction” unless the candidate receives or expects to receive $5,000 or more in contributions.

There is also an exception in RCW 42.17A.200 for “an office of a political subdivision of the state that does not encompass a whole county and that contains fewer than five thousand registered voters as of the date of the most recent general election in the subdivision, unless required by RCW 42.17A.135 (2) through (5) and (7).”

The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) has a helpful webpage, Personal Financial Affairs Disclosure, that explains the filing requirements and another one about Enforcement, that talks about the process and possible penalties. Because the PDC is the enforcement agency for this, the district is not responsible for ensuring the commissioners comply with the reporting requirement.

MRSC has a topic page on   Salaries, Compensation, and Benefits for Local Elected Officials that contains a section on waiving salaries.

As the linked page notes, there are specific provisions in state law for some positions, such as fire and port commissioners, but there is not a comparable provision for cities. Nevertheless, many cities do have local policies on the topic. Here is a city example from Stanwood, and a county example from Chelan County:

• Stanwood Ordinance No. 1342 – Waiver of Mayor/Councilmember Salaries (2013) – Allows mayor or councilmembers to voluntarily decline all or a portion of their salaries, with the waived money to be used for general government purposes, unless the individual mayor/councilmember directs that it should be used for a different purpose.
• Chelan County Municipal Code Sec. 1.164.030 – Allows an elected official to voluntarily receive a salary less than that established for their position.

We recommend reviewing the page and any local procedures for waiving or donating one’s salary with the city’s legal counsel.

MRSC has consistently taken the position that “actual attendance” under the district commissioner compensation statutes (RCW 70.44.050) includes remote attendance, whether via video conferencing or via speaker phone, unless your district has adopted a policy that requires attendance in-person.

The Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion a few years ago that concluded a governing body can legally conduct a public meeting via telephone or video conference call so long as the participants can hear, be heard, and participate effectively in the meeting. See AGO 2017 No. 4.

Additionally, the Open Public Meetings Act was amended this year to explicitly allow board member remote attendance so long as it allows real-time verbal communication (RCW 42.30.230). This may still require some action by the district board to consider remote attendance—ideally pursuant to a written policy that sets forth the circumstances under which remote participation will be allowed. But, unless local policy prohibits it, a member should be able to attend a commission meeting via phone or video without it impacting their compensation.