Saline County Commissioners Tuesday unanimously agreed to let voters decide whether or not to expand the the commission from a three person board to a five person board. A successful petition campaign by a group called Saline County Citizens For Responsible Government prompted the action.
Back on July 8th, members of the group turned in their petition to put the issue on the ballot in November. In April, the group had asked Saline County Commissioners to put the issue on the November ballot. Commissioners did not support the idea, and refused. Without commission approval, the group began the petition drive.
1,647 valid signatures were needed to have the issue put on the November ballot.
The group believes that with an expanded commission conversation among the commissioners will likely be more diverse, resulting in more thought-out decisions. Also, in between meetings two commissioners would be able to talk to one another about county business without violating the open meetings act.
