Flathead County Commissioner Gary Krueger is irked that his fellow county commissioners are sending letters to the state Legislature without the public’s knowledge, or his for that matter.
Over the last few weeks, Commissioners Pam Holmquist and Phil Mitchell have sent signed letters to lawmakers supporting House Bill 496 and House Bill 630 and reaffirming their opposition to Senate Bill 262.
In a recent interview, Holmquist maintained the commission was working within its rights. She doesn’t believe the letters needed to go on the agenda because the board is a “representative form of government. We represent our constituents.” After all, Holmquist and Mitchell are elected officials.
Krueger countered that whether sending a letter or passing new laws, “it must be on the agenda when decisions on the commission are made.”
Legalities aside, let’s take a look at what these bills are all about.
SB 262, which Holmquist and Mitchell oppose, is the controversial Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes water compact. In a previous 2-1 vote, which was very public, both commissioners agreed to send a letter to lawmakers saying the compact “will be harmful to Flathead County, as well as the rest of Montana and neighboring states.” The most recent letter simply reiterated that.
The pair’s support for House Bill 496, however, was news to me. The legislation would set up a task force to study the feasibility of transferring federal lands to state control. The land transfer proposal has been a point of contention for months. Supporters say the state could better manage public lands, especially for natural resource development. Opponents argue that it is economically unfeasible and would lead to selling off a national treasure. HB 496 has since died in committee.
The other letter of support, regarding HB 630, also involves water. It’s “an act generally revising water laws; retaining state authority to allocate, administer, and protect state water resources; authorizing an interim study.”
There may be other letters, and the two commissioners believe its well within the duly elected board’s purview to send them. Krueger does not, at least without telling the public.
But the latest dispute speaks to a larger problem among the most powerful board in Flathead County – that the commissioners simply don’t communicate with each other. It’s one thing to send letters to the Legislature without putting them on the agenda and quite another to send them without showing them to the full commission, as Krueger claims.
If this column reads familiar, it’s because I’ve written about this issue before. Communication among our commissioners and indeed the general public is not a new problem. Previously, Holmquist claimed she hadn’t received pertinent information before a vote to fund a new Agency on Aging building.
Then there was the slope mitigation project on Whitefish Stage Road, which, after a four-year effort to get a $400,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, two commissioners voted to terminate despite the county not having to pay any matching funds.
In that case, residents whose backyards have been sliding away and who have led the effort to pursue a grant, sued. And earlier this month a Flathead County District judge overturned the commission’s decision, calling it unconstitutional, and ordered the board to move forward with securing the money.
Regardless of the commissioners’ decision regarding the slope mitigation, the larger issue was that they really never explained why they would stop pursuing the grant. There is a persistent lack of communication that has continued far too long.