Planning commission appointment is now even more muddled
Staff writer
A new wrinkle was added to the controversy over whether a planning and zoning commissioner can serve more than three consecutive terms.
Derek Belton served two terms as a commissioner and two as an at-large commissioner.
At Monday’s commissioner meeting, county counselor Brad Jantz said Belton would be allowed to serve a third term as an at-large commissioner.
But commissioner Clarke Dirks said Belton never took an oath of office to be an at-large commissioner. In essence, he served five consecutive terms.
Jantz said never taking the oath changed everything and that he would need to review this new allegation.
Commissioner Kent Becker asked if a previous oath would be sufficient, but was told by Jantz it would not be.
Chairman Dave Crofoot wondered whether the commissioners could appoint someone Thursday
Jantz said there was nothing to preclude the majority of the board from doing so, but added the issue of not taking the oath might preclude that.
“I am just looking at the bylaws and interpreting the law,” he said.
“I am just telling you what the law says. The way the law is written, the office, not the individual, is looked at.”
Dirks asked whether any vote cast by Belton while not being the at-large member might invalidate the entire vote.
Jantz said it could.
“If he did not take the oath that is a problem,” Jantz said.
Commissioners could appoint someone other than Belton or could revise the panel’s bylaws.
Jantz said commissioners have the right to fix all of the uncertainty with a new or revised resolution.
At Jantz’s advice Dirks asked Jantz to draft a resolution that replaces ambiguity.
Commissioners asked Jantz to also look at 12 specific issues
Commissioners are allowed to appoint a planning and zoning member from outside his or her district. He was asked to change that bylaw wording to not allow it.