Fillios takes turn with hot potato

Commissioner Chris Fillios gave the optional forms of government study his vote last year, not because he supports a change but to examine the current system's inefficiencies. 

On Thursday, Fillios spoke to the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans about his take on the investigative study to compare six alternative structures permitted by state law. 

Recognizing the public heat the discussion has generated recently, Fillios was quick to note that the study isn't necessarily something he supports.

Speaking to his decision to vote in favor of the study — which ultimately approved its creation — Fillios referenced a quote by the Greek Philosopher Socrates that says, "an unexamined life is not worth living." 

"Why did I second Bill's vote to proceed with this? Probably for the very same reason that I gave the quote. We do have certain inefficiencies in the county," Fillios said. "If in fact (the study commission) determine that the county needs to be restructured in one form or another for greater efficiency, for speed, for being more responsive to constituents, then that goes to a public vote. So you get the final say, not us. You." 

Fillios said the current structure can be disorganized because of the hundreds of hours commissioners spend in meetings for day-to-day matters. He told the audience that in 2017, he asked the county communication manager to tally the number of meetings Fillios had sat in during one year.

The tally: 232 clerk meetings, 21 indigent hearings, 77 executive sessions, and 47 community development meetings. Three hundred seventy-seven meetings and countless hours later, Fillios believed commissioners could operate more effectively. 

"Some of these meetings I sit there and I think, 'For goodness sake, do I really have to be here for this?" Fillios remarked.

Members of the nine-person study commission are set to be announced Monday. Previously, the study representatives were intended to be nominated by an Ad Hoc selection committee.

However, after a failed first meeting, the commissioners regressed to Brooks' initial recommendation — for each commissioner to pick three.

While he now supports that process, Fillios said he's ready to take his hands off the study and plans to nominate individuals who are hopefully less partisan and inspire objective thinking.  

"You can never totally eliminate bias, only do what you can to reduce it," Fillios said. "What I'm looking for is knowledge of organizational structure because if that person has not worked in government or private industry and doesn't understand how organizations function, that's a problem for me."

He said he believes the other commissioners, specifically Commissioner Leslie Duncan, will likely elect partisan commission members, and he suspects Brooks will as well. 

Addressing the brunt of public concerns — a loss of elected officials and newly hired county manager — Fillios explained that there are five styles the study commission could approve that are different from the current one.

He noted that more options allow officials like the sheriff or county clerk to remain elected while others are hired based on qualifications. 

"They can slice this thing in any way they feel is appropriate," Fillios said. "They might say the treasurer, coroner, assessor, clerk are going to be part of a reconstructed county government. Sheriff and prosecutor remain elected, so they are independent and report to the people." 

By setting qualifications and hiring, Fillios told the crowd that elected officials like the treasurer, coroner, or sheriff could be required to bring forth specific abilities.

Members of the Reagan Republicans said they fear hiring officials would lead them to be less accountable to the public, referencing the county manager format.

"I see this as a catch 22," one woman said. "You're talking about accountability, but then you have somebody who we can't recall if they do things that we feel are out of line … We could end up with a corrupt bureaucratic system like Washington."

Fillios said he anticipates the investigative process will span four to six months, after which there is a recommended change of government or decision to stay the same.

The commission will spend the remainder of the time before the November 2022 election presenting the group's findings to the public.

Voters will have the final say next November.