WALLACE — Shoshone County commissioners are considering changes to guidelines for future commissioner meetings.  

BOCC Chairman Jeff Zimmerman recently presented a list of five rules that had been discussed that could be printed on the back of the board’s meeting agendas. Both the board and the public would be required to adhere to them during all future meetings. Commissioner Melissa Cowles also proposed an additional rule during the discussion that was added to the list.  

The proposed rules are:

• All public questions or comments must be directed to the commissioners.  

• The public should not expect an immediate answer to any questions asked during the meeting. Any answer provided will be at the discretion of the board.  

• Public comments or questions will be limited to two minutes.  

• Personal attacks are not allowed at any time.  

• Threats will not be tolerated.  

• Public comments or questions must stay on the meeting topic. The time for open public questions or comments is during the board’s consent agenda meetings, usually held Wednesdays.  

“I think it’s time to formalize things,” Commissioner Dave Dose said. “I’ve been paying attention to other counties’ meetings and how they do things. I’ve talked to our legal, and it seems like a good practice.”  

No specific reason for the change was given, but Dose and Zimmerman did mention that the county's legal team had reminded the board in the past about the rule on personal attacks. 

Many of the rules presented by the board are similar to public meeting guidelines presented by the Idaho Association of Counties. 

The only difference is that the board wishes to print them on the back of every meeting agenda so that the public has access to them each time they attend a meeting.