“The 21 freeholders drafting a new charter for Kitsap County government have finished the preliminaries and are getting down to business, the island’s two elected representatives on that group say.We’ve been through the procedural process – which took a little longer and was a little rockier than I thought – and now we’re in the midst of two months of education, said Andy Maron, former Bainbridge Island mayor and city council member.The freeholders will begin taking votes on various issues at a meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. today at the Givens Center in Port Orchard. But this vote, like several more to come, is a non-binding straw poll aimed at giving the freeholders a sense of where they may have areas of agreement and disagreement.A good analogy would be a preliminary vote that a jury might take, said George McKinney, the island’s other member of the freeholder board.Last November, Kitsap County voters elected 21 freeholders, seven from each commissioner district. The group is charged with drafting a new constitution for the county – a basic document specifying how county government will operate.Five counties – Clallam, Whatcom, Snohomish, Pierce and King – operate under charters as so-called home rule counties. The rest of the state’s counties, including Kitsap, are now governed by state laws that control in the absence of a charter.Any charter that the freeholders draft must be approved by the county’s voters before it can become effective.Both McKinney and Maron say the process is working smoothly, and believe a charter could be drafted by late fall. If that schedule is met, McKinney said, an election on the charter could take place in early 2002.The sentiment among the freeholders appears to be to have a special election for only the charter, so it doesn’t get lost among other issues, McKinney said.The freeholders, he said, are grappling with no fewer than seven significant issues:* Whether there should be a separation of powers between executive and legislative branches, rather than the present system in which the county commissioners act in both capacities;* Whether county officials such as the sheriff, coroner and assessor should be elected or appointed;* Whether county elections should be partisan or non-partisan;* Whether the number of commissioners should be increased from the present three;* Whether the commissioners should be elected by districts or at large;* Whether the charter should permit citizens to recall public officials, that is, to vote them out of office between elections, and;* Whether to institute provisions for initiative and referendum measures on a county-wide basis.Both of the island freeholders say they have strong leanings on some of the issues, weaker leanings on others and no opinion yet on still others. The problem, they say, is that for most of the issues, credible arguments can be made on both sides.For example, both McKinney and Maron say they support the concept of separation of powers – with an elected board of commissioners acting as the legislature, and a county executive to put those decisions into effect.But where, they ask, would the executive come from?Professionalism would become a concern if we elect an executive, McKinney said. Would anyone be able to run, or would there be certain qualifications?Another unresolved question is the scope of the executive’s power.Would he have veto power over the commissioners? McKinney said. And if so, what vote would be needed to override the veto?The same problem complicates the question of whether officials should be elected or appointed, which McKinney said gives you maximum public input, but raises questions about qualifications.Both he and Maron favor expanding the size of the commission from three members to at least five, but they differ on whether the elections should be at large or by district.I like the present system, where candidates must live in a particular district, and run by district in the primary, but then the whole county votes in the general election, Maron said.McKinney is drawn to a hybrid arrangement – three commissioners elected by district and two elected at large.That way, everybody in the county votes for a majority of the commissioners, he said.Both believe the issue of initiative and referendum is problematic.McKinney said he cautiously favored those provisions, but wanted a fairly stringent requirement on the number of signatures required to get a measure on the ballot, and a short time frame for collecting them to try to keep frivolous issues off the ballot.The freeholders will bring their proceedings to Bainbridge Island on June 9, a Saturday, where they plan a day-long open-house to answer questions. The location has not yet been set.The freeholders must present a complete charter proposal to the electorate, which they will either approve or reject. State law does not permit the freeholders to propose alternative provisions from which the voters can choose.McKinney, a retired corrections-system executive from California who has lived on the island for six years, was impressed by the seriousness with which the freeholders are undertaking their task. We have good leadership, he said, adding that because he is retired, he can spend considerable time working on the charter.And he wants the public to become more involved, particularly on Bainbridge Island.We have had very little public input to date, he said. But we are part of Kitsap County, so this will have some effect on us. I’d like to see us become more aware of county government. “