‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it’: McKenzie County commissioners defend procedures
M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer
Following a series of critiques raised by local citizen Travis Bateman during the December board meeting, the McKenzie County Board of Commissioners used their January 6 session to formally respond, defending their record-keeping practices and the current structure of board leadership. The exchange, which highlighted a divide between public expectations for detail and the board’s adherence to legal minimums, addressed three primary concerns: agenda accuracy, the depth of meeting minutes, and the rotation of the chairmanship.
Addressing Bateman’s previous concern that the board’s annual reorganization was not listed on the December agenda, commissioners clarified that the item was, in fact, present, though perhaps easy to overlook. “We just want to clarify that we weren’t doing any misrepresentation of our agenda,” Chairman Howdy Lawlar stated, explaining that the reorganization was listed at the top of the document in bold letters. Because that portion of the agenda is typically “static” and remains the same for every meeting, officials admitted it is often glazed over by those accustomed to the format. “It was on there in black bold letters...I had missed it [too],” Commissioner Joel Brown added.
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