The Bonner County Board of Commissioners agreed verbally to trial a new meeting cadence, shifting broader in-person coordination meetings to a quarterly schedule while keeping monthly written updates from departments.

The change followed a sustained discussion about efficiency and public optics. "There's too many meetings and we're not getting work done," one commissioner said, arguing for blocked "focus time" to complete substantive work rather than attending frequent full-staff coordination sessions. Director Holmgren favored a quarterly trial focused on budgets, saying, "Let's try once a quarter, maybe focus on budgets," and noting that some organizational culture benefits from in-person interaction.

Board members debated trade-offs. Supporters said quarterly meetings would allow more meaningful, focused conversations and provide space for leadership training; critics warned that less frequent meetings could reduce informal cross-department collaboration and personal interaction. Several commissioners and staff endorsed keeping monthly written reports in a single shared document and using a simple status indicator (for example, a 'glide slope' or red/yellow/green) so the board can spot anomalies without requiring full attendance.

The board settled on a practical approach: keep the monthly written form and shared document so elected officials and staff maintain situational awareness, ask departments to suggest up to three key metrics each, and convene in person at midpoints of each quarter (proposed months included February, May, August and November) to review budget trajectories and training needs. Commissioners indicated training could be combined with quarterly meetings when there is value to the group.

The decision was recorded as a consensus direction rather than a formal, recorded vote; staff were directed to continue the monthly written update process, to design the shared reporting form and metric proposals, and to return with any changes needed after the trial period.

What happens next: county staff will circulate a template for monthly reports, solicit metric suggestions from departments and electives, and schedule the first quarterly coordination meeting using the proposed mid‑quarter months.