BoCo commissioners reinstate use of Zoom on split vote

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

All but one of the action items at the Feb. 21 Bonner County commissioners’ meeting drew a unanimous vote in favor. That lone split vote marked the third time the board has considered the use of the Zoom streaming platform in county meetings, and also marked a tide change, as commissioners reversed a decision made earlier this month to end Zoom access.

Zoom has remained a contentious issue at Tuesday business meetings since it first appeared as an executive session item on the board’s Feb. 7 agenda. After a discussion behind closed doors — afforded by attorney-client privilege after consideration by a county lawyer — commissioners reconvened in public to cast their votes.

Discussion, particularly on the part of Chairman Steve Bradshaw and Commissioner Luke Omodt, revealed concerns about litigation should a constituent participating via Zoom have difficulty hearing a meeting or sharing testimony. 

Bonner County Commissioners Luke Omodt, left; Asia Williams, center; and Steve Bradshaw, right. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

While Commissioner Asia Williams suggested a disclaimer on future agendas be considered to mitigate risk, that idea was not explored any further on Feb. 7, before Bradshaw and Omodt voted to discontinue the use of Zoom for the public in all county meetings. 

While YouTube streaming remained in use, it didn’t allow for two-way interaction with members of the public wishing to ask questions or comment during the meeting.

The Zoom issue continued to dominate public comment at the board’s Feb. 14 meeting, where Williams proposed adopting a disclaimer that read, in part: 

“Use of the Zoom link is not intended as a substitute for in-person or written participation in the proceedings of county business. It is possible to have technology issues with the Zoom link to include, but not limited to, difficulty hearing and being heard. If you have information to communicate to the county, please come in person or send your information in writing. … Use of Zoom is at the risk of the user …”

Williams said at the Feb. 14 meeting that county legal counsel had reviewed the disclaimer and verified that it would mitigate risk, though not entirely. She argued that Bonner County’s codified commitment to encouraging greater public involvement — combined with the risk of excluding elderly and disabled meeting participants — outweighed the risk of litigation related to technology failure.

Her motion Feb. 14 to accept the disclaimer died without a second, as did Omodt’s motion to table the item until he could hear from legal counsel himself.

In the face of sustained public pressure to reinstate Zoom, the issue appeared on the agenda once again at the board’s Feb. 21 meeting, this time as a proposal from Williams to reconsider the disclaimer and reinstate use of the streaming platform. 

This time, Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson — the attorney who issued the opinion warning the BOCC against using Zoom, and who also gave Williams positive feedback on her drafted disclaimer — issued his own public comments on the topic.

“I raised this issue about a year ago, but it sat on the back burner until you guys took office,” Wilson said, referring to newly elected Commissioners Omodt and Williams.

He said that when a constituent suggested at a recent meeting that “any decision that had been made in that meeting was invalid because people couldn’t hear,” it “prompted the new emphasis on this topic.”

“I’m definitely happy to work with the board of commissioners to mitigate the risk … It really is just a choice between elimination of all risk and the consequences that could come with that from the public not liking the decision, versus some middle ground,” Wilson said.

Omodt said he’d heard from several people “on both sides of this issue” — including his own mother, who is a proponent for reinstating Zoom. He said he had taken into consideration the Idaho Legislature’s continued use of the platform in its own hearings.

“If it’s good enough for the Legislature, I think it should be good enough for Bonner County,” he said. “I believe that Commissioner Williams has the right of it. I think that this is good for Bonner County …”

Bradshaw remained steadfast in his opposition to allowing future use of Zoom.

“Unfortunately, if this was to become a litigatious [sic] thing, it would not go before the Legislature — it would go before the courts,” he said, adding later: “For me, having been sitting here for over four years now, I am reluctant to make any decision that my legal has advised me not to. That’s where I sit, because I’ve seen what happens when we ignore that.”

Use of Zoom in county meetings was reinstated with a disclaimer on a 2-1 vote, with Omodt and Williams in favor and Bradshaw against.

BOCC business meetings are held each Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building, 1500 Highway 2 in Sandpoint. To access the meetings via Zoom or YouTube, find those links on agendas at bonnercountyid.gov/commissioners.