Bonner County Commissioners:
What Did We Just Witness?
The Bonner County Business meeting and subsequent executive session should have the community asking…what did we just witness?
We have all heard of the Gomer Pyle citizens arrest resulting in residents of Bonner county being trespassed, cited and arrested. The decision to trespass and call law enforcement to forcibly remove members of the community was made by Commissioner Luke Omodt.
Commissioner Omodt ignored legal input, he ignored the statement from law enforcement that no law had been broken, he ignored the process of a vote by the board of commissioners for his first citizens arrest.
At nearly every meeting, we hear Omodt state rules that the public must follow while he asserts himself as ‘the chairman presides, the chairman decides’…while ignoring his own decorum failures.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Williams placed agenda items regarding the probable legal cases that are aimed at you, the tax payer, as a result of the one-man-board-of-commissioners. Commissioner Omodt attempted to misdirect the attention of the public from his actions that have placed Bonner County in Jeopardy. He then declined to even discuss the issue brought forth by Commissioner Williams who stated:
- She will not participate in any settlement discussions but the county needed to discuss this issue
- Settlements don’t have to include money; she provided an example of a letter from the board as a possible settlement option
- She reminded the public and the board of the high cost of attorney fees.
The response from Commissioners Omodt, he did not want to discuss the issue until legal action was received. However, Commissioner Omodt and Commissioner Bradshaw, through retroactive support, allowed the County Clerk to remove a sum of $20,000 from the budget to build a defense for a legal case that has not come to the county.
What are we witnessing? Ignoring legal, ignoring law enforcement assessment of situations, disregarding the purpose of the board of county commissioner while making decisions unilaterally, writing dishonest and damaging letters against other elected officials to be posted to social media as if they are the opinions of the board, and denying the peoples first amendment right which is God Given and protected by the Constitution? Can we afford four more years? I say no, we can’t…
Deborah Wilson
Sandpoint
