Morton County commissioners discussed a new public-comment policy required by state law during their July 10 meeting and directed staff to obtain legal review before final adoption. Commissioners debated whether to place the county’s public-comment period at the beginning or end of regular meetings and agreed to bring the policy back for final approval before the Aug. 1 statutory deadline.

Why it matters: State law requires counties to adopt a public-comment policy that, among other items, defines when and how members of the public may address the commission; the policy affects public access and the orderly conduct of meetings.

Auditor Roan presented a draft (policy 400-006, Public Comment). Commissioners discussed options: placing public comment at the start, at the end, or continuing the current practice of allowing comments when agenda items are called. Some commissioners favored a comment period at the end to allow citizens to address agenda items after they have been discussed; others cited the city of Mandan’s practice of a public input period at the beginning of the meeting as a reference. Legal concerns were raised about complying with the statutory requirement that comment must be tied to an item on the current or previous meeting’s agenda and that written sign-in information be submitted prior to the meeting, as stated in Century Code.

The commission asked the auditor’s office to provide final language for approval and asked that the state’s attorney review the draft for legal sufficiency. No final policy was adopted at the July 10 meeting; the commission agreed to return the draft for approval at the next meeting to meet the statutory timeline.

Ending: The commission will bring a revised policy back for action, incorporating guidance from the auditor and the state’s attorney and addressing placement of the public-comment period within the agenda.