Columbia County commissioners move into executive session on labor negotiations

The Columbia County Board of County Commissioners approved its meeting agenda Monday and then moved into an executive session to discuss labor negotiations under ORS 192.660(2)(d).

The chair opened the meeting, noted the date as April 6, 2026, and said, “No decision may be made in executive session,” instructing in-person attendees to leave the public room while online participants remained in a separate virtual breakout. News media and designated staff were allowed to attend the executive session but were specifically directed not to report or disclose the deliberations beyond stating the general subject announced.

A motion to approve the agenda was made and seconded before the board announced the move into executive session. The transcript records a speaker saying “Alderman Behrendt” followed by two “Aye” responses; the meeting record in the transcript does not provide a full, named roll call or complete vote tally. The transcript’s reference to “Alderman Behrendt” is reported here as spoken in the record; the meeting minutes included in the transcript did not supply further identification or a full vote list.

The board said it would return to the virtual meeting room after the executive session. Under ORS 192.660(2)(d), the executive session is limited to deliberations with designated representatives about labor negotiations; the chair reiterated that no formal decisions would be made while the session was closed to the public.

The meeting then moved into the separate virtual room for the executive session; no substantive public discussion of the labor negotiations appears in the provided transcript excerpt.