Editorial: Charter government

But give them credit for being up front, though the cumulative weight of one sharp idea after another sinks the plan as written.

It's a big gulp indeed, including: an elected county manager with line-item veto power requiring a supermajority override; term limits for the manager and commissioners, who could not take campaign donations from lobbyists; consultants who choose to bid for county contracts could not lobby the county on behalf of clients for six months; the public could demand referendums on their own ideas or any action taken by the commission; the public could recall commissioners for violating an ethics code; no new taxes without a referendum.

Charter advocates keep pushing, adding to the list a pitch for referendum approval of special districts.

County commissioners are to be asked about setting up a charter review board to see which, if any, of these ideas -- or others -- should be put into a charter for public review.

Commission support is warranted. So is naming members with minds open to real change and improvement. They can pick and choose among the proposals. For starters, the recall provision -- against the background of Stadium Naples and an effortlessly manipulated and toothless Florida Commission on Ethics -- is a natural.

The community can handle the debate and would surely appreciate the opportunity for public-interest improvement. Let's build a constituency for that one step at a time.