Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Gazette Meyer
Whitman County commissioners decided to keep their same committee assignments for 2018, often the case from year to year for work which takes them to meetings around eastern Washington and to Olympia on state legislature matters.
Each commissioner serves on about 30 committees apiece, selected by factors such as location, interest and inheritance.
For example, of location, Commissioner Art Swannack of Lamont serves on the Martin Hall Juvenile Facilities Consortium, which meets in Cheney. Swannack and Commissioner Dean Kinzer, who both took office in 2013, inherited many committee assignments from their district predecessors, Greg Partch for District 1 (Swannack) and Pat O’Neill for District 2 (Kinzer).
Once assigned, learning begins.
“You kind of stay on the same committees as you develop an expertise,” said Commissioner Michael Largent. “Otherwise you spend so much time just getting up to speed.”
Boards meet at various intervals, some quarterly, some three times per year and some with teleconferences interspersed.
Some of the committees are advisory boards to the commissioners, such as the Board of Adjustment, Road and Bridge Advisory Board, Emergency Communication Advisory Committee and the Water Conservancy board.
These are attended by invitation only.
“You want them to have free discussion,” said Largent.
While Largent, Swannack and Kinzer has specific committee assignments, commissioners sometimes switch and cover for each other to reduce travel time and costs.
2018 Whitman County COMMISSIONERS COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Commissioner District I, Art Swannack
Aging & Long Term Care of Eastern WA (ALTCEW) (Part. Paid Exp.)
Avista TAC (AT)
Board of Equalization (BOE)
Board of Health (BOH)
Columbia River PAG (CR-PAG)
Eastern WA Council of Governments (EWCOG)
Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (FMSIB) (Paid Exp.)
Incident Team (IT)
Inland Northwest Partners (INWP)
Joint Planning Advisory Committee II (JPAC)
Latah County/Whitman County Meetings (LC/WC)
Martin Hall Juvenile Facilities Consortium (MH)
Mayor’s Roundtable (MR)
Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC)
Palouse Basin Water Summit (PBWS)/Planning Meetings
Port of Whitman/Whitman County Commissioners (PW/WC)
Pullman/Whitman County Meetings (P/WC)
Quarterly Regional Breakfast (QRB)
State Council on Aging (SCOA) (State Paid Expenses)
Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) Watershed Group
Workforce Development Council (WDC)
Commissioner District II, Dean Kinzer
Avista TAC (AT)
Board of Equalization (BOE)
Board of Health (BOH)
Cup O’ Joe (Colfax/Pullman) (COJ)
Government Affairs Meeting (GA)
Greater Columbia ACH Leadership Council (GCACH)
Inland Northwest Partners (INWP)
Latah County/Whitman County Meetings (LC/WC)
Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC)
Mayor’s Roundtable (MR)
Palouse Basin Water Summit (PBWS)/Planning Meetings
Palouse Rural Transportation Planning Organization (PRTPO)
Port of Whitman/Whitman County Commissioners (PW/WC)
Pullman/Whitman County Meetings (P/WC)
Quarterly Regional Breakfast (QRB)
Southeast Washington Economic Development Assoc. (SEWEDA)
United Way of Pullman (UWP)
Whitcom Executive Board/Whitcom Finance Committee (WEB/WFC)
Commissioner District III, Michael Largent
Avista TAC (AT)
Board of Equalization (BOE)
Board of Health (BOH)
Colfax and Pullman Trail (CAP)
Greater Columbia Behavior Health Regional Support Network (GCBH)
(Largent-Primary), (Mike Berney-Alternate)
Inland Northwest Partners (INWP)
Latah County/Whitman County Meetings (LC/WC)
Law Enforcement Officers/Firefighters I Board (LEOFF I)
Mayor’s Roundtable (MR)
Palouse Basin Water Summit (PBWS)/Planning Meetings
Palouse Empire Fair Board (PEFB)
Port of Whitman/Whitman County Commissioners (PW/WC)
Pullman/Whitman County Meetings (P/WC)
Quarterly Regional Breakfast (QRB)
Snake River Salmon Recovery Board (SRSRB) (Paid Expenses)
Space Allocation Committee (SAC)
Washington Counties Insurance Fund (WCIF) (Paid Expenses)
Washington Rural Counties Insurance Pool (WRCIP) (Paid Expenses)
WSAC Legislative Steering Comm. (LSC) (Partially Paid Expenses)
Chairman Only Attends
Board of Adjustment (BOA)
Canvas Board (CB)
Hearings Examiner Board (HEB)
Finance Committee (FC)
Commissioners Attend by Invitation Only
Accounting Technicians Meeting (ATM)
Blue Ribbon Advisory Task Committee (BRATC)
Board of Adjustment (BOA)
Board of Law Library (BLL)
Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
Citizens’ Commission for Salary for Elected Officials (CCFSFEO)
Civil Service Commission (CSC)
Classification Committee (CC)
Developmental Services Advisory Board (DSAB)
Elected & Appointed Team Committee (EAT)
Emergency Communication Advisory Committee (ECAC)
Extension Steering Advisory Committee (ESAC)
Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC)
Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB)
OKKO Club (OK)
Palouse Empire Fair Board/Fair Foundation (PEFB)/(PEFF)
Palouse Scenic Byways (PSB)
Park Board (PB)
Planning Commission (PC)
Pro Mall Condo Association (PMCA)
Public Defense Advisory Committee (PDAC)
Pullman League of Women Voters (PLWV)
Road and Bridge Advisory Board (RBAB)
Rural Library Board of Trustees (RLBT)
Safety Committee (SC)
Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC)
Veterans Advisory Board (VAB)
Water Conservancy Board (WCB)
Website Development Committee (WDC)
Whitman County Cattlemen’s Association (WCCA)
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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