Stevens County officials object to lost remote meeting access

The Stevens County Commissioners have been chastised for scaling back remote access to public meetings by two elected officials who say it is now more difficult to stay abreast of decisions that are being made.

District Court Judge Gina Tveit and Auditor Lori Larsen told commissioners last week they felt blindsided by a decision made by the commission on a subject listed only as a discussion item on a recent agenda.

Larsen said learning about actions that affect their offices after the fact has made it difficult to build trust between department heads and the commission.

It’s frustrating,” she said.

If the discussion about getting all employees on a matrix to make salary adjustments uniform had been readily available, Tveit said she could have provided input.

As it was, Tveit said an email was sent out by the commission with the recommended salary matrix without the opportunity for her to disagree with some numbers.

County Commission Chair Greg Young told both officials the matrix was intended as a tool to get everyone on the same page, but it could still be tweaked. He said the rationale for developing the grid for annual and performance pay adjustments was to stop lengthy discussions over individual salaries as had been the practice in the past.

He opposed the decision to take away open WebEx access on July 1 and require that people call the commissioners office to specifically request remote access.

However, Commissioners Wes McCart and Mark Burrows supported the return to in- person meetings at the 20 E. Birch Avenue office.

Young told The Center Square last week that, because he can’t unilaterally change that decision, he will make agendas more detailed to better inform people about pending actions.

“I just need to do a better job of communicating what’s going on,” he said.

Young said people can still call the commission office at 509- 674- 3751 to request that WebEx access, preferably at least two hours prior to the beginning of the meeting.

Although the law does not allow government agencies to require that people provide information as a condition of attending a meeting, an email address must be provided to the county in order for staffers to send the requested meeting link.

Neither McCart nor Burrows could be reached for comment about last week’s criticism of their decision to restrict meeting access.

McCart said in June there is a difference between people monitoring a meeting and participating, which he encouraged. He said when people come to meetings, they walk away with a better understanding of how policy decisions are reached.

Conversely, when people pop in and out of WebEx meetings, they sometimes receive only part of the information about a policy discussion so misinformation gets spread across social media platforms, he said

“We’ve got nothing to hide, but I want to be transparent in an honest way,” he explained.

Burrows said in June that he believes WebEx should be reserved for public hearings and policy discussions that require interaction with area residents. Although people can provide written comments via mail or email, he said getting feedback from constituents remotely is also effective.

“The governor’s mandate [a ban against in- person meetings] has ended, so we’re finding a common- sense way forward that accommodates people,” he said.

Carl Taylor, a Republican running for the commission seat now held by Burrows, also a Republican, has blasted the county board for scaling back WebEx access. He said it has become commonplace for agencies to offer remote participation because the COVID- 19 pandemic showed how well digital platforms worked to keep residents engaged.

Even though other agencies could also return to only in- person meetings, they have chosen to continue Zoom or WebEx to fully accommodates First Amendment rights, he said.

“The commission already makes it more difficult for people to attend meetings because they take place during the work day,” said Taylor. “So, why limit the ability of their constituents to participate, or listen in, on meetings when decisions are being made that directly affect their way of life.”