The cost for the county to subsidize those three campaigns would likely fall around $150,000, Peterson said. Peterson, who drafted the ordinance, said the bigger bucks are usually in the mayoral race but the council seats are at least a start toward publicly funded campaigns.

"This is probably the one thing that dollar for dollar will have the greatest impact on restoring public trust in county government," Peterson said. "In the end, that's what ethics reform is all about."

That boost to campaign funds will likely encourage more people to run for office who may otherwise not have had the financial resources, Peterson said. The ordinance would also take the focus of county campaigns off raising money and put it back onto issues and grass-roots efforts, he added.

But that level playing field may be a disadvantage to some incumbents and to county officials who rely on their Republican Party affiliation to out-fund their opponents. Those consequences may not fly with the council, Ashton said.

"I'm opposed to it at the county level for sure," said Ashton, a Republican whose district seat is up for election next year. "I don't think our citizens think that's an appropriate use of tax dollars."

He said a better way to reform the county's campaign financing system is a proposal pitched last week by Wilson to lower the amount of allowable contributions from $5,000 to $2,500 for an individual.

That system, he said, addresses the problem of special interest groups' buying off politicians — without putting the burden on taxpayers.

"We talk about not being able to accept a Coke but we'll go ahead and take $15,000 for an election cycle," Ashton said. "Lowering those caps does some great things and helps move towards solving the conflicts of interests we have coming up."

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com