Residents use public comment to urge transparency and report difficulties accessing county complaint process

Several members of the public used the July 23 public-comment period to raise concerns about conduct by a county commissioner and to describe difficulty filing formal complaints with county offices. Deborah Cozardews read prepared remarks criticizing Commissioner Casey Miller's past disclosure of confidential employee information and urged the commissioner to make a public apology and enter mediation with affected colleagues. "This is why I lost respect for commissioner Casey Miller... He pulled the stunt attacking commissioners Katie Jacobson and Claire Hall with false accusations," Cozardews said in a public statement entered into the record. A separate resident who declined to provide full contact information told commissioners they had attempted since March to file a formal complaint with county offices and had encountered repeated difficulties obtaining a physical complaint form or staff assistance. The speaker said they waited in person and called multiple times without meaningful assistance and described the experience as a violation of their civil right to redress government. "I have not been able to make a complaint... I sat in this office for another 2 hours yesterday getting no help," the speaker said. Quentin Smith, editor and board chair of Yaquina News (publisher of the Lincoln Chronicle), also used public comment to urge the county to consider notice reach when designating a newspaper for foreclosure publications and to require bidders to supply circulation and paywall/accessibility information. Commissioners did not take formal action on the public comments during the meeting; public comment remarks were entered into the record and will remain part of the meeting minutes. No county response or disciplinary action was recorded during the session; the board concluded the meeting after the public-comment period.