Be the Poll -- Will payback for a pay raise lead to a new form of government for Linn County?

A couple local guys hope so. From Rick Smith's morning account:

Cedar Rapids did it, so why can't Linn County?

That's the thought of two retirees, Richard Bice and Mike Engelken, who say they will launch a petition drive to create a charter commission and examine Linn County's form of government.

State law requires a minimum of 10,000 signatures in Linn County.

“I think it will take a little bit of work,” Engelken said, “but I also know there's a lot of frustration out there, and once they see what we're trying to do, I think we'll get the petition easily enough.”

Bice and Engelken want Linn County to replace its full-time supervisors with a county-manager form of government that features part-time supervisors and a full-time, professional manager.

Fueling Bice, 80, a retired businessman, and Engelken, 59, a retired financial controller for Rockwell Collins, is the Linn County Board of Supervisors' decision in March to move to full-time status and raise their pay by 25 percent.

I'm not sure what will come of this effort, especially considering that a charter commission would be packed with appointees picked by the supervisors and other local elected officials who probably like the way things are.  But once these things get rolling, you never can tell where they'll lead.

Regardless, the supervisors sure have purchased a lot of ill will with that fat raise. Seems like they were warned that might happen.

But should their bad form lead to a new form of government? It's early, but here's your chance to weigh in on that and on the supervisors' job performance.

(Editor's note: The skull-and-bones poll motif was, evidently, the default setting. But, you have to admit, it makes 'em look mean.)

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