Korn’s warning on limiting public comments at BOCC meetings treads old ground

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Bonner County Commission Chairman Ron Korn began the Oct. 27 BOCC business meeting with a warning about limiting public comments that include derogatory remarks. As with several other times in the past when commissioners have attempted to limit public comment, Korn’s remarks were met with criticism and, in some cases, warnings by the public to avoid potential litigation.

“After receiving many complaints the last few years and more so recently on public comment, I took a better look at our ordinances and our policies,” Korn said.

Reading from Bonner County Code, Chapter 2, Section 1-200, Korn said that going forward, the chair “will not entertain under any circumstance comments derogatory in nature toward any board member, staff member, elected official or member of the public.”

Korn said, “Regular business meetings do not constitute public hearings wherein the public has a right to be heard on every agendized item,” further stating that “at the discretion of the chair, everyone may be afforded an opportunity to speak on a particular issue if recognized by the chair. Any unrecognized comments or disruptive behavior will be grounds for removal from the board meeting by their chair and may subject the person being removed to criminal prosecution according to law.”

Korn’s announcement was ill-received by many in the room, as well as by Commissioner Asia Williams, who pushed back on the substance of Korn’s statement.

“Derogatory is interpretive,” Williams said. “… Are you saying that you’re not going to allow criticism from the public during public comment? We’ve had this come up many times in the past.”

“It depends on how the criticism is presented,” Korn responded.

This isn’t the first time Bonner County commissioners have attempted to curtail public comments at their weekly business meetings. Commissioners suspended public comments in 2020 after two members of the public engaged in a physical altercation in a hallway outside of the meeting room. Later, in 2023, then-Chairman Steve Bradshaw announced that public comment would no longer be accepted due to “a complete breakdown in regards to decorum,” as then-Commissioner Luke Omodt told the Reader. In both instances, commissioners voted to reopen comments shortly after.

Williams called Korn’s announcement a “slippery slope that brings risk to the county,” because the chair would be the arbiter of what is “derogatory” versus mere criticism. She suggested that Korn obtain legal input before telling a member of the public they couldn’t speak, “because that is a restriction and that would be an action on the part of the county that could expose it for litigation.”

During the public comment portion of the meeting, several people in attendance criticized Korn’s announcement.

“It seems like a little bit of déjà vu with Korn’s announcement,” Dan Welle said. “I want to bring back to your memories that strict adherence to those policies cost this county $500,000 in civil payouts. … when a person is up here on public comment, they are entitled to free speech. Nothing the county can do — no ordinance the county can make — is going to override the First Amendment.”

Korn stated one of his duties as chair is to run meetings with “some kind of decorum to it, not just an Animal House meeting.”

Williams pushed back at that statement, claiming she hadn’t “seen a meeting that has been bad in a very long time,” and that Korn is “creating a problem that doesn’t exist. … You just created the lack of decorum that you claim you as chair need to institute.”

“This is the language of tyrants unwilling to tolerate criticism from commoners when it is in fact their God-given constitutionally protected right,” Dave Bowman said of Korn’s announcement. “I was on the receiving end of this intolerance by a prior board to the point of unlawful arrest and an unnecessary drawn-out completely avoidable legal battle in which I prevailed.”

Bowman continued: “ … Commissioner Korn, you even said during a campaign event, and I quote, ‘I support free speech as long as a bunch of Democrats don’t show up at a meeting.’ Free speech means listening to things you do not want to hear from people you don’t want to hear them from “

Korn did not reply to a request for comment.