Anoka County commissioners elect chair, approve organizational rules and multiple appointments

Commissioner Mike Gamache was elected chair of the Anoka County Board of Commissioners for program year 2025 by a 4-3 vote, and Commissioner Jeff Reiner was elected vice chair by the same margin, board members said during the board’s organizational meeting.

The board also approved a package of organizational resolutions and appointments, including rules and procedures for the board, designation of the public meeting notice facility, establishment of the county board of appeal and equalization, appointment of hearing officers and other routine organizational items. Most of those resolutions passed unanimously. The board set committee assignments and moved to a committee-of-the-whole structure for several major topic areas, and approved numerous appointments to regional boards and associations.

Why it matters: the chair and vice chair set meeting agendas and preside over board sessions and the committee-of-the-whole arrangement alters how commissioners will receive information and lead portions of combined meetings. The resolutions and appointments determine board operating rules and who represents Anoka County on regional bodies for the coming year.

In the meeting’s opening business, Administrator Dickenson called the roll and outlined the process for selecting officers. A nomination was made and seconded for the chair; Commissioner Gamache accepted the nomination. After the raised-hand vote the chair position was decided by a 4-3 tally, at which point the board chair began…