OTHELLO — Adams County Commission candidate Hank Rivard said he believes county government should be run differently. Rivard is running against incumbent Jay Wiese.

“There are a lot of things that need changing,” Rivard said.

He would support moving county offices from Ritzville to Othello, saying that the majority of the county’s population lives in Othello. Rivard said in his opinion the Othello area pays most of the taxes but does not get a proportionate share of the benefits.

“The people aren’t getting what they deserve and are paying for,” he said. “People are tired of paying the increased taxes when they don’t really get the benefits when things are done. The benefits usually go to the other end of the county.”

Rivard said if he is elected one of his first tasks would be to review the county budget. In his opinion county money can be spent more efficiently. 

“The first thing you do is try to rein in the spending,” he said. 

He cited the Adams County Jail as an example. The jail was closed in May 2022, and since then prisoners have been transported to facilities outside the county.

“Why, after two years of transporting prisoners to other counties (with) the expense for housing them — why are we just now looking at getting a contractor or engineers in there to see how we can remodel this building? We may have been able to have this (jail) up and running with the money they’ve spent,” Rivard said. 

In his opinion, personalities sometimes play a role when county and city officials are trying to work with each other, and commissioners should take steps to alleviate conflicts. 

Rivard is retired from a management job and said he feels the commission's oversight of the county budget and employees are insufficient.

“You need responsibility,” he said. 

In his opinion, there is insufficient follow-up if something goes wrong. 

“Nobody is held accountable,” he said. “You need accountability.”

Rivard said he made requests for information from county officials in 2019, and felt strongly that their response was inadequate. 

He is a supporter of the “Home Rule Charter” option, he said, and would support implementing it in Adams County.

The Home Rule charter allows the residents of a county to make changes to its government, according to information from the Municipal Research and Services Center. 

Washington state law makes a commission the standard form of county government. The commissioners have the authority to establish the budget and act as the county legislative authority. They share administrative functions with other elected officials.

The Home Rule option allows county residents to keep a commission or change it to a council. In one option, the county would have an elected executive. In a second option, the commission or council keeps its legislative functions but delegates administrative authority to an appointed administrator. 

Home Rule counties also have the option to allow residents to sponsor county-only initiatives, and Rivard said that’s an important reason for his support of the concept. 

“The main thing I would like to see is the Home Rule Charter go through,” he said. “Basically, Home Rule Charter is a check and balance on the commissioners. They’ll still be able to do what they want to do — if they want to add an inspection fee on building a home or other things, they can still do that. (Home Rule) gives you the opportunity as a citizen to go back and get an initiative on the ballot to change it.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].