County considers town halls on hot topics
Kootenai County's elected officials are looking at hosting a series of town halls, the first on a bond issue for voter approval during the May election.
A bond issue is when an entity — like the county — places an item, in this case, the future attorney center, in front of voters as a ballot measure for their consensus on additional spending. Several funding options were developed after discussions between county and attorney center project officials, like pulling from the forgone balance, an annual appropriation lease, or putting it out to bond.
"With the potential bond coming up, I do want to host a town hall about the bond to make sure we can get as much community contact as possible," Commissioner Leslie Duncan said. "That is probably going to happen near the end of March or sometime in April."
To be on the ballot, language for the bond — which has already been drafted by county Treasurer Steve Matheson — needs to be submitted to the county clerk's office by March 29. The bond-related town hall would be an informative conversation between the commissioners and the public to ask questions and receive intel otherwise lost before voting in May.
"The point that needs to be stressed is that the bond is not a question of whether or not the building gets built. The question is do we finance it that way because there are other options," Commissioner Chris Fillios said. "If we go with the bond, it has to be approved by public vote, and if they approve it great, if not, then we have to look at other options."
Matheson and County Clerk Jim Brannon agreed the town hall is a promising idea but warn the commissioners of their decorum during the meetings.
"I think it will be worthwhile, especially with this issue that should be a hoot," Matheson said. "Be careful if you're explaining it in an informational setting. I don't think it would be appropriate to take a position on it. We all need to know what we can and cannot say and what the narrative will be. People are going to be watching."
Brannon concurred, further reminding the commissioners and other elected officials to refrain from "off-the-cuff comments" like "it's going to take two to match my vote."
"You can't say these kinds of things. If you do, you have gone afoul of what's going on, and that is very dangerous," Brannon said.
Other upcoming town halls are still up in the air. However, the elected officials could hold meetings with the public anywhere from twice a year to quarterly or even monthly as issues come up.
The idea for hosting community events like this, Fillios said, arose from the flow of incoming questions to the commissioners that another official could better answer.
"We can probably handle many of the questions regarding your particular purview, but certainly not to the detail you (the elected officials) can," Fillios said during a meeting with county leaders Wednesday.
Commissioner Bill Brooks, who has hosted several town hall gatherings, supported the idea of informational meetings but felt that Wednesday's proposed style was not the correct route.
"I don't have any usefulness in doing them as a board of commissioners or all elected officials because I think what happens is everyone vying for face time, and I'm not interested in that," he said.
