As part of a homeschool civics class comprised of students in the 7th through 10th grade levels, students were asked to write opinion editorials on topics of their own choosing which reflect current themes in governance and policy-making.
Over the course of the next few weeks the class will be tracking the views of and commentary on their op-eds with the goal of generating as much meaningful community engagement as possible.
A prize will be awarded to the student who is most successful at generating meaningful community engagement with their op-ed.
Thanks so much for partnering with us to create this experience for the children and teaching them to be actively involved in the governance of their community!
Why You Should Be Aware Of What Occurs
In Bonner County Commissioners Board Meetings
by HSC24
I had the opportunity to go to two county commissioners meetings on Tuesday September 12th and Tuesday September 19th 2023 held at 9:00 AM at the Bonner County administration building. At these meetings it’s fairly obvious to me that there was a certain amount of dysfunction among the three commissioners. The discordance between the commissioners had gotten to the point where there is a law enforcement officer stationed in the meeting due to a restraining order against one of the commissioners. It was a very eye opening and unexpected experience to see how discordant the local government is in Bonner County. I believe it is something that more people should attend so that they can see how our county government is operating. Being more informed about our local commissioners and the issues in the county will allow you to vote more effectively.
There were very informative parts of these meetings such as reports from Road & Bridge, Solid Waste and other entities. That said, the commissioners themselves were not extremely good at coordinating and working together. The meetings were over twice as long as they were supposed to be and very chaotic. The commissioners did not have adequate discussion about things without contention. While I don’t know everything about the commissioners, two of the commissioners appeared to be hostile towards the other. They wanted to repetitively shut down one of the commissioners and not let them speak about things that they didn’t like. On occasion the audience was also disrespectful to the commissioners and disruptive to the meetings. Recesses were very frequent in the meeting and seemed to be used for stopping discussion that was not very welcomed by some of the commissioners. In my opinion I believe that the county commissioners and some of the people of the public audience need to operate in a much more graceful and diplomatic manner.
In conclusion I would like to advise the reader to attend one or more of the Bonner County commissioners meetings held every Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM at the Bonner County administration building. Doing so will allow you to be more involved in the local government and have an educated opinion about who you would like to vote for in the next election. It is very important to know how the lower tiers of our government are run. Our local government affects our lives greatly on a daily basis. Being able to make informed decisions about who to vote for is vital for our county’s functionality and effectiveness.
Source: Bonner County commissioner meetings on September 12th and September 19th 2023
Related Article: What Has Happened In The County Building?
Good job!
The levels of frustration among the people that attend the meetings has grown exponentially over months.
It is a wonder that the board seems so confused as to how to conduct their business. Yet it is no different than the audience’s confusion as to what is being done.
Generally, the lower departments do very well, yet they also have shown greater frustration this year.
Elected officials need to remember that they represent the people, nothing more.