Cancelled BOC Meeting Raises Questions

LCNS writing contributor:

A regularly scheduled January 21 Lincoln County Board of Commissioners (BOC) business meeting to be chaired by Commissioner Casey Miller was canceled by county staff, raising concerns of fairness and that the cancellation violated Oregon’s Public Meetings Law.

Under long-standing public meeting practice in Oregon, regularly scheduled meetings are established by the governing body and may be canceled only by the chair of the body or by a vote of the governing body itself.

Administrative staff do not have the authority to cancel a regular meeting once it has been scheduled, unless the board grants them that authority. On January 20, County Counsel Kristin Yuille informed Miller by email that the January 21 meeting would not be held. In her message, Yuille stated that there were not enough “business matters” to justify convening the meeting and explained that business meetings are reserved for items such as contracts, budgets, ordinances, and other formal actions requiring board approval.

However, records show that Miller submitted agenda item requests on January 15 at 10:29 a.m., well before the Thursday-at-noon deadline Yuille cited for legal review of agenda materials. In that email, Miller requested several items that are clearly county business, including discussion of the commissioner vacancy process, an update on District Attorney staffing positions, and review of the county’s audit action plan.

In addition, during the January 14 work session, Public Information Officer Kenneth Lipp stated on the record that there were four items scheduled for placement on the consent calendar for the January 21 business meeting. At the January 7 BOC meeting, Miller proposed an alternating chair arrangement, stating, “I move that Commissioner Chuck is chair of this current meeting and at the next meeting I am chair and then the following meeting, Commissioner Chuck is chair and that we alternate.”

At the January 7 BOC meeting, Miller proposed an alternating chair arrangement, stating, “I move that Commissioner Chuck is chair of this current meeting and at the next meeting I am chair and then the following meeting, Commissioner Chuck is chair and that we alternate.” Without repeating Miller’s motion, Counsel Yuille suggested the motion be phrased as one in which Commissioner Walter Chuck would serve as chair and Miller as vice chair for the first meeting of the month, and Miller would serve as chair and Chuck as vice chair for the third meeting of the month. The commissioners adopted the motion councilor Yuille suggested.

Commissioner Miller said it was a great starting point but he wanted to discuss it further at their next meeting, or a work session and look at what that would mean for administrative activity going forward. The meeting on the 21st is the meeting that Commissioner Miller was supposed to chair, according to the motion. Though he presented agenda items, it is unknown who decided that there were not enough business items to hold a meeting, despite Commissioner Miller's objections.

The next regularly scheduled BOC meeting is set for February 4, when the process to fill the vacant commissioner seat is expected to begin. At press time, it is unclear whether that meeting will be held in a hybrid (in-person and virtual) format, or be entirely virtual. All three commissioner seats, including the vacant position, will appear on the May 2026 primary election ballot.