Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance And Procedure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners debate Robert’s Rules and public-comment limits; hold multiple executive sessions on personnel
Summary
Commissioners discussed adopting Robert's Rules of Order and tightening or clarifying public-comment rules to balance decorum with responsiveness. The commission held multiple executive sessions to discuss non-elected personnel; no action was reported after those sessions.
Dickinson County commissioners spent part of the Jan. 23 meeting debating meeting decorum and public-comment rules and held several executive sessions on non-elected personnel matters.
Commissioner Kenny Rafelson said he favors adopting Robert's Rules of Order and intends to bring a formal resolution to the commission to codify meeting procedures and clarify the county administrator’s delegated authorities. Rafelson said his goal is to provide structure and predictability for how meetings are run.
Other commissioners agreed on the need for decorum but cautioned that strict procedural formality should not impede urgent action. One commissioner said: "I do have a problem when Robert's Rules stops action from happening," arguing the board must remain able to act quickly when community needs require it. Commissioners discussed allowing public comment at the commission’s discretion, limiting individual comment times and avoiding lengthy, repetitive remarks.
During the meeting the board repeatedly moved into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel matters. The commission voted to enter executive session at about 11:38 a.m. for 15 minutes to discuss non-elected employee personal matters, naming attendees to include the commission, county counselor Doug Thompson, HR director Marsha, county administrator Janelle Dockendorf, deputy administrator Marcus Rothschild and employment counsel Forrest Rhodes. The board recessed and returned to regular session, then held additional short executive sessions later in the meeting for the same subject and with the same attendees. After the sessions the commission reported returning to open session; no formal action on the personnel matters was taken during the public meeting.
Commissioners said they will draft a formal resolution that would outline meeting procedures, public comment guidelines and the extent of delegation to the county administrator for review and later formal adoption.
