The County Board of Commissioners voted to exempt the Archives Records Advisory Board from a county policy that prohibits county employees from serving on advisory committees for 120 days, from Sept. 1 through January. The motion passed unanimously.

County staff and the archives’ representatives told commissioners the board’s bylaws and its establishing resolution call for a nonrotating county employee representative. A county employee on the archives board, Robert Haney, resigned in response to the countywide policy; the archives board and county staff concluded the policy conflicted with the archives board’s bylaws and operational resolution. A presenter told the commission the archives board “sent in his resignation to be in accordance with his policy.”

Commissioners discussed two options for filling the positions going forward: the founding entities (city, county, historical society, school board) could nominate their representatives for commission approval, or the county could advertise vacancies and accept public applications. Commissioners asked that the archives board be given time to find replacements and requested a temporary grace period to avoid losing quorums. The chair proposed exempting the archives board for 120 days to allow a transition while staff and the board amend bylaws and the resolution; the board approved the exemption by voice vote.

Discussion vs. decision: The board’s formal action was a temporary exemption of the existing county policy for a single advisory board and direction that staff and the archives board pursue bylaw and resolution revisions or appointment procedures. The board did not adopt a permanent change to the county policy at this meeting.

The board directed staff to advertise one county vacancy immediately and to coordinate timing so the archives board can maintain a quorum while the bylaws and appointments are revised.