For decades the Coos County Board of Commissioners (BOC) has allowed citizen comments limited to 3 minutes at regular BOC meetings.  Previous BOC Meeting Agendas said, these remarks could be about “agenda items or general comments.”  This practice changed at the February 7 meeting.  The agenda now said comments are, “restricted to agenda items only.” 

            Since agenda items are usually narrow in scope this change prohibits comments about most of what County government does or plans to do.  For example, the County is considering making the Coos Health & Wellness Department an independent, non-government agency. Few people know about this possibility.  However, until or unless this idea is an agenda item citizens are prohibited from commenting about it at BOC meetings.

            On February 7 people without an agenda (most of the crowd) quickly found what had changed.  Chair Robert Main told the first three citizen speakers to sit down because their remarks were not about agenda items.  He said any person refusing to sit down would be told to leave and if necessary, “escorted” out by police.  Would be commenter Rob Taylor told Chair Main he was “authoritarian” and said, “Heil Hitler” before sitting down. 

            Oregon’s Public Meetings Law authorizes citizens to attend government meetings except in specific circumstances.  However this attendance does not include the right to comment except on a narrow range of issues set by law.  Most governing bodies do allow public testimony even when they are not required to do so.

            We do not know who changed the BOC public comment rule.  Was it Chair Main alone or all three Commissioners?  Regardless, Coos County has gone from having one of the most expansive policies on citizen comments to one of the most restrictive.

 

 UPDATE ON BOC PUBLIC COMMENT RESTRICTIONS

On his February 13 talk show Rob Taylor reported BOC Chair Bob Main acted alone in restricting citizen comments at meetings to “agenda items only.” According to Mr. Taylor Chair Main’s restriction was in response to a prayer given at a previous meeting.  On January 24 a speaker used his comment time to make a Christian prayer.

            Mr. Taylor said he talked to Mr. Main and he thinks the comment rule will change.  He also reported that County Commissioner Rod Taylor is working to eliminate the “agenda item only” comment rule.