SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to erase an online registration form required for public comment and to remove the mention of “standing rules” from future board agendas. 

Both actions were brought forth by Commissioner Brian Domke, who said the registration form and standing rules conflicted with Bonner County Code. 

Prior to the meeting, a reference to the board’s standing rules — which specified practices for conducting meetings — appeared on every business meeting agenda. Additionally, remote viewers attending a county meeting through a livestream were required to complete a digital form before the meeting began to be eligible to give public comment.

Both the standing rules and registration form were implemented in December 2023 and January 2024, respectively, by a prior BOCC consisting of Commissioner Asia Williams and former commissioners Steven Bradshaw and Luke Omodt. 

Domke told attendees he believed the standing rules were a product of the prior board and that he saw their removal from the agenda as a procedural task. 

“My position is the standing rules actually are not enforceable and therefore don't exist for this board,” Domke said. “I'm proposing that we remove them from the agenda for clarity.” 

Williams voiced support for distancing the board from the standing rules and emphasized her commitment to facilitating public input throughout business meetings. 

“The standing rules are standing in between the people and their elected officials,” said Williams. “For me, the idea of standing rules continuing to be on the agenda is a memory of a period of time in Bonner County meetings that I would like to forget.” 

Commissioner Ron Korn said he believed the board should amend the county’s code to include some principles listed in the standing rules, including a requirement for all action items placed before the board to include a descriptive memorandum and a policy describing personal attacks as out of order. 

Korn added that removing the principles “could lead to unproductive, unprofessional behavior to take place” and said that standing rules should remain on agendas until commissioners amend the code. 

“It’s not mob rule, this is a republic form of government,” he said. 

Several attendees voiced support for removing the language and described the standing rules as overly restrictive. 

Domke and Williams voted in favor of removing the rules from future agendas, while Korn voted against the motion. Looking forward, Domke agreed with Korn’s suggestion to examine the county’s policies to ensure meetings are conducted optimally. 

“It sounds like we all agree as a board that looking at Chapter II (of Bonner County Code) is necessary,” Domke said. “I suggest that we move forward with creating a public workshop to work through what we think needs to change." 

During deliberation for the action to remove the online comment registration form, Korn suggested that the form helps county staff keep records of meeting activity. 

Domke said he recognized the form as a convenience for county record keeping, but that he wished to ensure attendees’ rights were preserved above all else. 

“My priority is that we are doing everything we can to encourage the rights of free speech that are protected by the First Amendment and doing as little as possible to create an encumbrance for that,” Domke said. 

Several commenters in attendance supported removing the form; the motion passed with Williams and Domke voting in favor and Korn abstaining.