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editor@newslj.com
news letter journal ..
Use of consent .
agenda questioned
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
We are not having con-
versations about what
Weston County
Commissioner Marty Ertman
agenda. Ertman voted against
the consent agenda’s approval.
According to boardfor—
ward.com, a consent agenda
groups “perfunctory, but none-
December 10, 2020 — 7
Each year during the Christmas season, First State Bank
makes a donation to every church in the community. All
year long we regularly donate to non-profits. We don’t ’
' donate for the recognition. We donate because we know
the important role non-profits play in our community. This \\
questioned the five-member
board’s use of a consent agenda
to approve a variety of items,
including grant approvals,
resolutions, and minutes from
both regular meetings and
executive sessions, without
any public discussion. Ertman
voiced her concerns at the com-
missioners’ Dec. 1 meeting.
Ertman began with a ques-
tioz- about grant approvals
listed on the meeting’s consent
agenda. Ertman said that she
was unsure of the purposes of
the grant and why the board
would hold a public meeting
after agreeing to the terms
of the grant. Weston County
Emergency Management
Coordinator Gilbert Nelson
said that approving the
agreement before the public
hearing was to help things
“moving along.”
“That’s my problem, just
moving things along. We are
not having conversations about
what this board is doing, and
we have been caught a couple
times not knowing we signed a
grant or what it was for. There
needs to be more public dis-
cussion on what we are doing,”
Ertman said.
According to Commissioner
Tony Barton, the consent
agenda is a tool for the board
to approve a number of items
and that if a commissioner
has a question or discussion
about any of the items, they
can be pulled from the consent
this board is doing, and
we have been caught a
couple times not know-
ing we signed a grant or
what it was for. There
needs to be more public
discussion on what we
3”,
are doing.
- Marty Ertman, Weston
County Commissioner
“For the first six years, there
was no consent agenda. We
discussed everything that came
to this board, even if it was just
for 30 seconds,” Ertman said,
noting that then the commis-
sioners at least knew what they
were approving.
“I would just as soon see it
go away,” she added.
, Commissioner Nathan
Todd supported Ertman’s
concerns, stating that he
is the first to admit that he
has missed things that were
approved by the commission
because they were included in
the consent agenda:
“Moving things along is
okay, but I have been guilty of
missingfith‘ings that happen,” p
Toddsa‘idf ‘-
Chairman Ed ' Wagoner
also stated that he understands
Ertman’s concern. Despite the
concerns about the consent
agenda, the board approved
the item afier pulling several
theless important, items into
one agenda item, speeding
up the meeting and creating
time for more critical issues
and previously undiscussed
matters.” The website also
says that the consent agenda,
or consent calendar, includes
items that are typically routine
and noncontroversial, or
items that had previously
received a consensus from the
board after discussion.
“Generally, topics that have
not been discussed by the
board in the past should not be
put on the consent agenda,” the
website states.
“Transparency and account-
ability are the foundations
of successfully employing
consent agendas. Even though
they are routine and non-con-
troversial items, it is impera-
tive that all supporting docu-
ments be provided and that
board members fully review
them in advance,” the website
continues. “Failing to provide
them can lead to mistrust. It’s
also worth noting that items
on the consent agenda are still
important and deserve board
members’ full attention oth-
erwise, they shouldn’t be on
the agenda at‘all.”
Proper use of a consent
agenda, the website notes,
can create a more productive
meeting with more engaged
members and more time to
discuss “strategic issues” that
require more debate, discus-
; Christmas season, if you are financially able, We hope you \.
Will join us in donating. Every dollar makes a‘ difference.
H {gr
CUS TOM
APPRECIATION
WEEK:
> Dec. 7-11
I Bank Lobby
’m by myself so like the
agenda before approval.
from Pagel. .......... ........... ....................... ........
.... ..
Ertman said that the commissioners must
stay up to date with COVID-l9-related issues
in the county. According to Ertman, with
325 cases confirmed in the county, less than
5% of the population had tested positive. This,
she said, is no reason to implement public
health orders.
Both Ertman and Chairman Ed Wagoner
expressed concerns with the accuracy of
reporting and delays in the cases being added
and removed from counts. Ertman said that she
has a hard time getting the numbers reported by
Weston County Public Health to correlate with
the numbers on the Wyoming Department of
Health website.
“By having variances, we are showing the
state we are watching, that we are going to
protect our people in the way we need to,”
Ertman said.
At this stage in the pandemic, she said, the
continued requests for variances tell the state .
government and constituents that the commis-
sioners are paying attention to what is going
on with COVID-l9 and that commissioners
are doing what they can to get the answers the
public needs.
Not only are the commissioners concerned
about the effects of the public health orders
on people and the economy, but theylzare also
concerned that public health officials have the
authority to deny the requests. We
Commissioner Nathan "I‘iidd said he beiieved
that someone who is not an elected official is
determining the fate of the variance requests.
“It is unbelievable that there is a person in
that position,” Todd said.
Commissioner Tracy Hunt expressed similar
frustration, stating that the power defaulting to
the appointed individual is a “pretty sweeping
power,” especially because the government and
people have no way to resist what they ordered
the public to do.
“There needs to be legislation that puts a
check and balance there. There is a lot more
danger from the bureaucracy than from the
virus. ...” Hunt said. “The fact that people want
items out of the consent
sion and deliberation.
qun :‘r I!
1 31;; l -’
to manage us over something that is not life
threatening to most, and they are not managing
to any objectives . . . . Resist is what we must do,
if we don’t, it will get worse.”
After the discussion, the commissioners
went into executive session with the purpose of
discussing Dr. Mike Jording, the county public
health officer. The board of county commis-
sioners appoints the public health officer.
“I had to go find it. I got a hint. How come
we haven’t been told? I was told while I was on
vacation that someone signs a mask mandate for
us,” Ertman said, prior to the executive session.
“We are elected to represent the people; that is
a reflection on this board. I believe we need to
sit down and do variances and keep doing them.
Whether or not they are approved, that is our
statement ~ no, we don’t want you.”
Commissioner Tony Barton suggested that
a more “enlightened” conversation about the
topic could be had with J ording present and that
the board should invite him and Lori Bickford,
the Weston County public health nurse, to the
next meeting.
“We need to get their perspectives. I hate to
try and interpret what they are thinking when ‘
they make decisions, what inclined them to
make the decision,” Barton said. “We need to
understand what they are seeing as a doctor and
public health officer. Inhealth care, it is your
job to save lives,‘rnot the economy.”
"Ertn'ran argued that J ording has the abil'i ‘5 to
request a conversation with the board as Well, to
inform them of his opinion on a mask mandate
and to keep dialogue open.
“Communication goes both ways,” Ertman
said, noting that J ording should be just as willing
to hear the opinions of the commissioners and
the public regarding the public health orders
and measures taken in Weston County.
“He is seeing a different clientele than we
are seeing; the conversation should come here,”
Ertman said.
Barton agreed and asked that Jording be.
invited to the next commissioner’s meeting on
Dec. 15 to discuss the board’s concerns.
0 .
fromPage .... ...... ................. ......
~S€Clfifityz0f knowing help can
ii be here injuiblink-ofian-eye. ’if)
i '_li"§LlRl-ta Vilhafi’al/l
Write your loved one is name on a piece of
paper, indicate whether it is Memory or Honor
of them. For donations of or greater you
can pick up your crystal angel ornament at
Washington Blvd. Please make checks
payable to WCHS Lifeline and mail them to
Washington Blvd, Newcastle
Call 307-746—3553 for more information.
‘ Please help others have this precious sense of security
by donating in Memory or Honor of a loved one this holiday.
g WESTON COUNTY
’Qi‘y" HEALTH SERVICES
YOUR CHOICE FOR
QUALITY HEALTHCARE!
1124 Washington Blvd. Newcastle WY 82701 www.wchs-wy.org
Hospital 746-4491 Manor 746-2793 Therapy Services 746-3720 Home Health
746-3553 Pharmacy 746-2425
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“I hope we are doing the
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Chick said.
“I am not deserving of
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“I want to thank the rest of
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