‘You are out of order’: Discussion over commission rules gets tense in Ottawa County

OTTAWA COUNTY — The rules committee of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners held its first meeting of the year Tuesday, which saw a tense discussion between commissioners.

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Committee members approved one change to the order of meetings, voted down an addition to the standard agenda, and discussed the board’s approach to public comment.

Commissioner Doug Zylstra attempted to codify two items under the “additional business” section of commission's regular agenda, including an administrator update and general comments and questions for commissioners.

Those items are often added to the agenda before a meeting, but aren't explicitly required by board rules.

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Board and Rules Committee Chair Joe Moss opposed the idea, saying larger discussions are best held outside the board room.

“I’m not interested at this point in having what you might call commissioner comments or commissioner free-for- all at the end of meetings,” he said. “I’d like to have well-run, orderly, organized meetings. An open-ended discussion, maybe, is best handled outside the board room, where you can go back and forth with each other."

Rhodea said any items worth discussing should be on the agenda ahead of time, so all commissioners have a chance to come prepared for discussion.

“I think it’s only fair to all commissioners to know the topics that are going to be talked about when they go to a meeting and to not be surprised by things added at the very end,” Rhodea said.

Ottawa Impact-backed commissioners, including Rhodea, notably added several items to the agenda last-minute during their inaugural meeting, including replacing the county administrator, corporation counsel and administrative health officer, and closing the diversity, equity and inclusion department.

Commissioner Jacob Bonnema supported Zylstra’s motion, and said barring general comments stifles conversations between the board and reduces transparency.

Moss said anyone wanting to add an item to the agenda can come to him, or the chair of a subcommittee, and request it be added for discussion. Bonnema interjected to say he disagreed with that course of action.

“I really protest this," he said. "We are elected just as you are."

Moss interrupted, saying Bonnema didn't have the floor to speak.

“You are not recognized, you need to wait,” Moss said. “You are out of order. Please stop.”

Commissioner Rebekah Curran asked Moss the best way to reach out to add items, to which he said “in-person, phone or email.” Curran and Bonnema asked if Moss will respond to those methods, to which he said “absolutely.” Commissioner Allison Miedema said a response might not always come right away.

“Or ever,” Bonnema said. “There’s weeks that go by with no response.”

The vote on adding commissioner comments and questions as a standing agenda item failed 3-6, with Zylstra, Curran and Bonnema supporting and Moss, Rhodea, Miedema, Lucy Ebel, Gretchen Cosby and Roger Belknap voting against.

The change approved to the standard agenda would swap the order of correspondence and the board's regular first public comment section, with correspondence now occurring first. Correspondence includes guests and recognitions, such as awards from the sheriff’s office or legislative updates. That motion will now go to the full board for approval.

Commissioners said that, given the length of the first public comment period in recent months, the change will make it easier for guests to participate without having to wait an hour or more for public comment to conclude.

Later in the meeting, commissioners discussed the protocol for public comment. No action was planned or taken to change the current format.

Administrator John Gibbs noted a policy observed by other municipalities of having the first public comment section be related to agenda items, with the second session as a free comment period. Several commissioners said they would be opposed to adopting a similar policy.

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“There’s something to be shown out of respect to those who are coming that they’re valuable and that their voices matter,” Miedema said. “I’m leaning still toward allowing all public comment, no matter what topic it is, to have their voice heard. That’s a big part of why we’re here.”

“I’ve come to value the wide array of commentary that takes place in this room,” Belknap said. “Generally I think I’m in favor of open-ended on both (sessions) because that just provides flexibility. Yes, that can make some of our meetings take a long time, but this is a very important calling and that is our responsibility.”

Zylstra, Rhodea and Curran also expressed a desire to keep the public comment format the way it is.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Discussion over commission rules gets tense in Ottawa County