A hamlet is a model of
local governance in
Clackamas County
Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. Like
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
elsewhere, it is a
county subdivision; like
New York's hamlets, the definition is unique to a state (in this case, to one county in a state).
Hamlets in Oregon are in addition to
villages in Oregon (which were defined at the same time as hamlets) and to Community Planning Organizations (CPOs), which predate both hamlets and villages.
To date, there are four hamlets:
Beavercreek,
Molalla Prairie,
Mulino, and
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...
.
Definition
For purposes of the laws related to hamlets and villages, a "citizen" means either
*a resident who is 18 years or older living within the boundaries of a hamlet or village, or
*a non-resident who owns property or a business there.
According to Chapter 2.10 of the Clackamas County Code, a hamlet is
:an unincorporated area that is an organized forum for citizens to express issues of concern, prioritize activities, and coordinate community-based activities, as may be approved by the
Board of County Commissioners (BCC). A hamlet is financed primarily through contributions and
fundraising
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
activities.
:Hamlets are represented by an elected hamlet Board, according to procedures set forth in citizen-approved
bylaw
A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
s that also have been approved by the BCC. A hamlet may assume the functions of a CPO upon agreement of the existing CPO, hamlet, and BCC. Upon approval of the BCC, a hamlet may also establish relationships with neighboring jurisdictions or organizations through Memoranda of Understanding. The County may, on behalf of a hamlet, enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with other governments. Hamlets are not direct providers of services and are not empowered to generate
tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
es or
fee
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...
s.
A hamlet's boundaries cannot overlap the boundaries of another hamlet, village or city.
Process
To establish a hamlet, a chief petitioner is responsible to collect the required number of citizen signatures and complete a hamlet application form within 120 days. The petition:
:must be signed by at least 10% of the citizens located within the proposed hamlet boundary or 100 citizens, whichever is the lesser number, and
:shall state the proposed name, preliminary purpose, boundaries, number of Board members, and activities for the hamlet.
A public hearing is then held, with a defined method of public notice beforehand. The BCC can then approve the petition as is, approve it with modifications, or reject it.
If approved, within thirty days an organizational meeting must be held by the hamlet's citizens. The purpose of the meeting is to establish a list of candidates for the hamlet's Board. That list must also be approved by the BCC; once approved, the citizen's meet again, to vote on their board.
Once elected, the Board defines the hamlet's bylaws, which must also be approved by its citizens and the BCC. The Board also defines a hamlet's plan, which defines the activities to be undertaken by the hamlet, and which, like the bylaws, must be approved by its citizens and the BCC.
The ordinance defining hamlets defines similar processes for other aspects of hamlets, such as their dissolution. In particular, Board members acting within their authority as defined by bylaws and county policy are treated as agents of the county for claims made against the organization, officer or member for the purposes of the
Oregon Tort Claims Act.
See also
*
Villages in Oregon
References
;Sources
*
External links
*Clackamas County website and announcements:
Complete Communities primary website for hamlets and villages
Clackamas County Considering Hamlets and Villages, a September 2005 article from
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...
{{authority control
Clackamas County, Oregon
Local government in Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon