Shoshone BOCC adopts new meeting rules

WALLACE – Last week, the Shoshone County Commissioners formally adopted a new set of rules to guide all future meetings. 

These rules aim to give the commissioners authority to address inappropriate behavior during public comment periods. After an initial discussion on potential language, the board drafted six rules and submitted them to the county’s legal team. Five were returned, slightly revised, and ultimately approved by the commissioners. 

1. A public meeting is not the forum which citizens should engage in argument or discussion with one another. If you intend to provide public comment, your comments and/or questions should be addressed to the Commissioners directly. 

2. In order to provide uniformity within the meeting structure and ensure that all citizens are treated with equality while still maintaining punctuality within the county calendar, public comments will be limited to two (2) minutes per citizen. 

3. Threats to others' bodily harm have no place in public meetings and will not be tolerated during public meetings. In an attempt to maintain civility within the public forum, citizens should attempt to focus their comments on the performance, operations, or plans of the public entity as a unit of government. 

4. In order to enable a fair opportunity for interested persons to anticipate what topics the BOCC may be receiving information on during a public meeting, comments from citizens should be limited to the topic listed on an agenda, except during the open comment period during weekly regular business meetings. 

5. The BOCC’s scope of authority is limited to those functions which the legislature has expressly authorized – It generally does not have the authority to exercise control over other elected officials or employees of other elected officials. If your comments relate to other elected officials or the operations of their departments, those comments should be submitted directly to the department for which your comments pertain. 

Commissioner Chairman Jeff Zimmerman raised concerns about the original wording of rule three, citing potential First Amendment issues. The initial version read: “Threats to others have no place in public meetings and will not be tolerated during public meetings. In an attempt to maintain civility within the public forum, citizens should focus their comments on the performance, operations, or plans of the public entity as a unit of government.” 

“I want to make sure we’re not crossing the line of the First Amendment,” Zimmerman said. “When a government agency comes in and starts telling people what they can say and what they can’t say, that’s when we have a problem.” 

Commissioner Melissa Cowles agreed, emphasizing the importance of avoiding anything that could be seen as censorship. As a result, the board revised the rule to specify “Threats to others' bodily harm” and added the word “attempt” to soften the guidance on comment content. 

“People should be allowed to come in here and hold us accountable if we’re making a mistake,” Cowles said. 

Commissioner Dave Dose noted that Shoshone County is among the few in Idaho that allows public comment at every meeting. 

The commissioners clarified that these rules apply to all regular meetings. Public hearings follow separate rules set by Idaho Code, and the weekly public comment period during the consent agenda operates under slightly different guidelines. 

The new rules take effect immediately and will be printed on all future BOCC agendas.