The 21-person Charter Review Commission is examining county government from all angles.

Elected in November, the review panel is charged with recommending possible changes to the charter that voters would then decide upon in the November.

Ratified by voters in 2005, the charter ushered in changes in the way local government is structured and the amount of influence islanders have over decisions made by local lawmakers. The charter stripped the former county commission of its management of personnel and day-to-day business in favor of an appointed administrator. It divided the county’s previous three legislative districts into six, with a mostly equal number of residents in each, allowed for each to elect its own council representative, and did away with county-wide elections for the legislative body: the council.

The charter also turned the three former commissioners into six non-partisan, part-time posts, and created a citizens’ salary commission to determine how much county elected officials should be paid. Council members earn roughly $35,000 a year, plus benefits.

The review commission meets every Saturday on one of the three major islands. Commissioner Ed Sutton hopes the community will take the time to weigh in on county government.

“I would greatly encourage everyone in the county who has a interest or concern about the effectiveness of county government to contact the representatives on the committee to express their opinions,” he said.

The commission has set a goal of early June to finalize a proposal. Their final plan will be on the November 2012 ballot.

“After only three meetings, its premature to be specific about any proposals that are forthcoming, however, the complexity of the discussion is such that we would love to hear from folks,” Sutton said.

For February, the meetings are as follows:  Feb. 11, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Orcas Hotel; Feb. 18, San Juan, San Juan Grange, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Feb. 25: San Juan, San Juan Grange, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The county has created a webpage for the review commission. It lists all of the members and has links to the meeting schedule, the charter and meeting minutes. The commissioners for Orcas are: William Appel, Robert Gamble, Stephen Garrison, Ralph Gutschmidt, Moana Kutsche, Edwin Sutton, and Linda Tretheway. Their email addresses are: first name and first initial of last name followed by .crc@sanjuanco.com. For example: williama.crc@sanjuanco.com

As the review panel dissects and discusses San Juan County government, toss in your two cents. The public is the most important part of the equation.