Tuesday's special meeting of the Kootenai County commissioners was anything but mundane as members of the board butted heads on a study commission for alternative forms of government.

The workshop, intended to finalize the draft bylaws by Commissioner Bill Brooks, quickly highlighted the disparity between Brooks and fellow Commissioner Leslie Duncan. Proposed by Brooks, the commission would investigate the viability of possibly changing the present government structure to one of the other four permitted under Idaho Code 31-5001. 

Duncan noted that Idaho Code 31-5104, which defines the study commission's parameters, says the group has the statutory right to develop its own rules and procedures. That could nullify any of the bylaws Brooks had drafted, she said. 

"I'm going to take the stance that this is an exercise in futility," Duncan said. "I would opt to ask for this committee to be dissolved and disbanded and to not go forward with a study."

She also noted that if the committee is to be objective, as Brooks has said, she felt it would be inappropriate for the commissioners to submit guidance. 

Brooks said he was ready to adopt the bylaws as written. However, Duncan claimed the commission's conclusion is geared toward one recommendation — appointing a county manager. 

"That's not what it says, Leslie, and that's just really disingenuous to say," Brooks said. 

The study commission would be made up of nine members, initially intended to allow each commissioner to appoint three. Duncan disagreed with that group makeup, saying it would still "be a two against one in the submission of all the names" — her being the one against Brooks and commission Chair Chris Fillios. 

Fillios recommended that instead, six of the commission members would be made up of one representative of each of four regional Chambers of Commerce, and one each from the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee and the Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee.

The remaining three open positions, Fillios and Duncan recommended, could go to other groups with importance to community development. Brooks noted that the last thing he wanted was for the commission to be filled with people from special interest groups that "have a very narrow focus," specifically, he referenced the John Birch Society, Three Percenters, and militia. 

"At that point, let's just do it today, let politics reign and special interests reign, and not worry about what other people want," Brooks said. 

Ultimately, the board agreed to fill those positions with a former county employee to be decided, a Northwest Property Owners Alliance member, and a North Idaho Building Contractors Association member. 

Fillios pulled the discussion along, going line by line, hoping to make suitable changes that would appeal to Duncan and Brooks. Often Fillios was met with few comments, recommendations to "take it to legal," and the occasional approval from Brooks and Duncan. 

"Gosh, I feel like I'm redrafting this," Fillios said just 10 minutes into the meeting. 

In a two to one decision, Duncan dissenting, all changes made by the commissioners Tuesday are being sent to the county's attorney before implementation. Then the process of appointing commission members will begin.