A new approach?

A new meeting policy adopted in April by the Stillwater County Commissioners is intended to streamline scheduling and presentations while addressing concerns about open meeting laws.
Montana’s open meetings law requires that government meetings where a quorum exists must be open to the public.
In most cases, advance notification of a meeting must be made and the discussion must be recorded as typed minutes or audio recording.
In Stillwater County, this applies when two or more commissioners are present during discussion of county business. The three commissioners, however, work side-by-side in the same office.
The issue of compliance with Montana’s open meetings law was raised in February by Fiddler Creek resident Dan Burkhart when he learned that the commissioners had met with Road & Bridge Superintendent Mark Schreiner and County Attorney Nancy Rhode to discuss complaints by area residents over county crews cutting trees in the roadside rights-of-way.
When Burkhart asked to see minutes to the meeting, he said he was told no minutes were taken during what was described as a “working discussion.”
In January, Commissioner Gerald Dell turned down a request by the News to see a copy of a report on the rockslide blocking the Stillwater River Road.
When the request was repeated in the presence of all three commissioners, Dell turned to the other commissioners and asked for their opinion.
Commissioner Dennis Shupak said it was public information, and Commisserioner Maureen Davey agreed. The unofficial vote was 2-1 in favor of allowing the News to see the report.
In March, the commissioners met with Schreiner and planning consultant Monica Plecker to discuss the development of new planning tools to guide subdivision approval in Columbus’ one-mile planning jurisdiction. The planning tools were later adopted by the county and city.
Also in March, Absarokee Water & Sewer District Board Chairman Mike Reynolds was waved into the commissioners office while he was in the courthouse on personal business.
He said he briefly spoke with all three commissioners regarding their proposal to consolidate the Water & Sewer District with the county-owned sewer system in Absarokee, noting that he couldn’t speak for the rest of the Absarokee board.

Open meetings
In June 2015, Montana Association of Counties Executive Director Harold Blattie emailed a sample resolution to county commissioners and clerks across the state that would address public notice requirements for government meetings created by House Bill 334.
Administrative assistant Lori Dobitz replied by noting that the Stillwater County Commissioners had adopted a public participation resolution in 2007 that seemed to meet the new requirement. Blattie agreed.
“Stillwater for sure was ahead,” he emailed Dobitz at the time.
In January, Commissioner Davey and Dobitz traveled to Billings to meet with staff at the Yellowstone County Clerk & Recorder’s Office. The intent of the meeting was to learn about Yellowstone County’s new agenda and notification policy for official meetings.
According to Blattie, the Yellowstone County Commission implemented its new policy in January to address issues involving meetings with county officials or the public in which a quorum of commissioners are present.
“The idea is to be sure those meetings are recorded in order to comply with the state’s open meetings law,” he said. “Scheduling the meetings ahead of time with agendas posted in the courthouse or online 48 hours in advance is one way to streamline compliance with the open meetings law.”
New system
The Stillwater County Commissioners will continue to hold their regular agenda meetings at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays, which are recorded by Dobitz so they can be typed up for approval at a later meeting. These meetings include action items that require a vote by the commissioners.
Twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays at 2 p.m., the commissioners will meet to discuss issues with the public and department heads. No action will be taken at these discussion sessions. Members of the public will need to make appointments ahead of time to put items on the agenda for these discussion sessions.
In addition, meetings with department heads will be regularly scheduled through the week, including the Road & Bridge Department on Mondays at 8 a.m., Human Resources and Finance on Mondays at 1:30 p.m., and the facilities manager on Wednesdays at 8 a.m.
These and all meetings with a quorum of commissioners present will be digitally recorded and filed with the Clerk & Recorder’s Office.
The commissioners have also developed a request form intended to guide department heads when bringing items to the regular Tuesday morning agenda meeting. In an attempt to streamline the process, the punch list asks department heads for a full description of a request, any recommended motion, all attachments and relevant information, and any necessary legal review by the county attorney.
Agenda and calendar setting will take place on Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. The deadline for submitting agenda items and supporting documents will be Thursdays at 11 a.m. The agendas for the following week’s regular Tuesday morning meeting and for the twice-weekly discussion sessions will be posted no later than Thursdays at 5 p.m. in the courthouse and online.