A sign earlier this year in Lincoln County commission chambers warns people to stay away from the dais. (Shayla Escudero/Lincoln Chronicle)Lincoln County commissioners may get back to conducting public business in person after five months of online-only meetings.
Bi-monthly meetings have been conducted online since April, under direction of the human resources department and the county’s insurance agency after public comment periods became increasingly rowdy.
In March, Commissioner Walter Chuck read a letter aloud from human resources director David Collier that detailed safety concerns against staff and announced the decision to switch to online-only meetings.
“Individuals who appear to be supporters of Commissioner (Casey) Miller are abusing public comment and meet the definition of harassment and bullying toward our employees. I know you have tried enforcing the rules, but it has not been effective,” the letter said.
Since then, meetings have been online and members of the public have addressed the board with comments or concerns via Zoom rather than at the courthouse. But that may soon change.
During their Wednesday meeting, Miller and Chuck agreed to visit the topic on Sept. 2.
Commission candidate Cathie Rigby spoke during the virtual public comment period to advocate for in-person meetings. “When people can show up, listen and participate it just strengthens our trust and helps our community feel connected to the government,” Rigby said.
She also wanted commissioners to consider moving public comment to the beginning of meetings rather than the end so people have a chance to comment on agenda items before an action is taken.
Once again Wednesday, Chuck and Miller were unable to agree upon a way to fill the vacancy left by Commissioner Claire Hall that has been empty since January.
After going through an interview process the two commissioners identified their top picks but did not share a single match between them. They then each chose two applicants with the intention of filling the vacancy with one of the four choices. Miller and Chuck were still unable to agree between the four options. While some of the four applicants have dropped out or are running races for different local government positions, Chuck has continued to advocate for Cristen Don, who is facing Joe Steere for Positon 2 in the November general election.
The issue was still not resolved Wednesday when Chuck asked Miller to divulge why Don was not suitable for the job to fill the vacancy and Miller listed names of people who had previously expressed interest months ago during the interview process to appoint instead.
— Shayla Escudero/Lincoln Chronicle
This is exactly what needs to happen. Going to virtual-only meetings was a cowardly attempt on the part of Mr. Collier to limit the public discourse with their elected officials and has only served to further alienate the voters from Lincoln County’s leadership.