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Commissioners to pick panel themselves

by MADISON HARDY
Staff Writer | April 20, 2021 1:06 AM

Kootenai County commissioners will take matters into their own hands next Monday, disbanding an ad hoc committee and nominating the nine optional forms of government study participants. 

Last Tuesday, the first — and only — ad hoc committee meeting left commissioners without a path forward. One of the three members, Marc Eberlein, stepped down from his role. 

The committee, formed to select nine individuals to the investigative commission objectively, could not create a process to vet candidates due to Eberlein's concerns of ideologically slanted results. 

During the ad hoc discussion, Eberlein — Commissioner Leslie Duncan's appointee — recommended that each ad hoc member nominate three individuals without a majority vote. Commissioner Bill Brooks, the study's sponsor, initially proposed the same selection style but received opposition from Duncan, who felt the nominees would be skewed in favor of changing the government. 

"I thought it was a great idea two weeks ago. I call it the Bill Brooks plan, but Leslie Duncan was absolutely opposed to it," Brooks said. "So we tried to accommodate her by involving the chambers and other area organizations, but she didn't like that either. Then she finally agreed to the ad hoc committee and appointed Marc Eberlein, who we found out was there as a stall."  

On Monday, Duncan recommended that the board dissolve the ad hoc committee and nominate three study commission members individually — much as Brooks and Fillios had suggested previously. 

"My original thoughts were about trying to take the political bias out of the study, but I realized no matter how we go about it, that wasn't going to happen," Duncan said. "It will just be nice to have this behind us as of next Monday."

Commissioner Chris Fillios was in favor of each nominating three individuals and believes it is the best option. 

"Hard as we tried, or at least I tried, to remove us from the process but ultimately by code, we would approve the people anyway," Fillios said. "We were trying to reduce our bias and prejudice, but we still would have to have made the final approvals."

While Fillios said he has considered one person for his recommendation, his three spots for the commission are still wide open. Fillios said he would be considering all his options — including individuals who have personally expressed interest in serving. 

"I'm going to try and appoint independent thinkers who can do the critical analysis necessary," he said. "We've had a number of people express interest, and I'll have to consider them. I've personally had five people, and I know that Nancy Jones has received more." 

The names of all nine study commission members will be announced by the commissioners next Monday during their 11 a.m. meeting.