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Writer's pictureKiera Morgan

County Commissioner Under Fire For Comments

Updated: Oct 5

County Commission Chair Casey Miller came under fire at this week’s Board of Commissioners meeting. During public comment at the October 2nd meeting Monika Kirk told Commissioner Miller she was disappointed in his conduct from the September 18th meeting. She told Mr. Miller "As someone who voted for you I felt it is my duty to publicly reprimand you for your conduct. There were process violations misrepresented as a commissioner report." She also criticized his tone taken with staff when Kristin Yule, Lincoln County council was keeping time during public comment. She apologized to the staff for voting for him and said she expected better of him.


At the end of the October 2nd board of commissioners meeting, again during commissioner reports commissioner Chair Miller said he had been notified by Human Resources that a formal complaint had been made against him. When he attempted to ask for further clarification on what he could and couldn’t do and who he could contact in the office he was cut off and told it was confidential employee information. Staff and Commissioners Jacobson and Hall then left the meeting. Below is a statement provided by Commission Chair Miller.


This describes some (but not all) of my questions and concerns. The second report (attached at the bottom) I was not able to enter into the public record due to breaking of the meeting quorum on 10.2.24. This report essentially describes how I have been given direction that creates great difficulty to interface with my management team (among other things) and attempts to highlight other business we need to address. 


Commissioner Miller - Official Media Statement 10.4.24

"During Wednesday's 10.2.24 meeting I was disheartened that legal counsel positioned my fellow commissioners to prevent me from reading my report into the record. The audio was cut, and everyone walked away to remove the quorum and prevent full transparency. I am disappointed and it further worsens the public trust. When I made my first inquiries on 9.18.24 Commissioner Jacobson and Commissioner Hall should have brought in outside counsel to review my questions. A better way to protect the county would have been an independent legal analysis or even an executive session to review these questions and concerns. It appears that everyone has gone into fight or flight mode. The investigation of me for alleged harassment since the 9.18 meeting is a systematic retaliation against me for blowing the whistle about unethical behavior.  Sadly, we all get hurt more when truth and accountability are suppressed."



Millers Report:

Commissioner Miller Report – BOC Meetng 10.2.24


Last Meetng 9.19.24

At our last meeting I reported that I needed my fellow commissioners’

feedback and support on several matters. These included the County

Administrator evaluation process, deflection program implementation,

and my concern that we have not been appropriately complying with

public record and meeting laws.

Complaint and Investigation

Thursday, following our commissioners’ meeting (9.19.24), HR notified me

that a formal complaint had been made against me. As a result of this complaint,

the county would be obtaining an outside investigator.

During this time I have been directed to:

• limit my interaction with staff

• limit time in the office to only BOC meetings

• asked to confirm that I will not attend management team meetings

or that they will be canceled.

I am saddened that my efforts to look deeper into our organizational

structure, asking for transparency and accountability, have somehow

been interpreted as alleged harassment. A county commissioner’s job description includes its essential functions and major responsibilities:

• Direct and confer frequently with department heads on matters of

policy of difficult or unusual problems.

• Attend and participate in meetings of the commissioners; participate in

other internal county meetings.


The difficulty I have been experiencing since September 19th is how to

navigate this unique situation. I realize it is complicated. But I have had

little to no contact with anyone in management, board of commissioners

and legal counsel offices for two weeks.

I have several items that need to be addressed in addition to the items

presented at our last meeting. In my limited communication with my

immediate staff and our department heads the following issues may or

may not be resolved or need further attention.

• MTEAM Workshop and Retreat. I am really excited about this

upcoming opportunity. Recent calendar notifications make it seem

as if this event has been canceled in my Outlook suite. Does anyone

know if this is true? I highly recommend that we do not sideline this

engagement. Our agenda’s themes include (1) deepening team

connections (2) interdepartmental customer service (3) extending

customer service to our constituents. Note that our consultant is

providing an opportunity through the AOC at no charge to us.

• Johnson Street Bridge: We all received an email from Bear Creek

Hideout Special Road District. ODOT/PW has identfied bridge

maintenance needed. My recommendaton is that we have our

public works director provide a staff report for the BOC to review as

soon as possible to ensure these issues are addressed in the coming

months.

• Deflecton Program (contnued): My sense is that there is contnued

refinement needed for the deflecton coordinator job descripton. It

appears that the grant concept paper revision was approved but that

we may be stalled on job descripton details. Also, this has been high

media profile interest and has implicatons across jurisdictons for

law enforcement and treatment and outreach for general public

awareness.

• BOC Liaison & Community & Boards: Let’s identfy each external

board and commission we are partcipatng in. Let’s work through

which departments we want to serve as liaisons with. Let’s discuss

how frequently we want to provide board updates and solidify that

process with a yearly board order.

• Anderson Creek Road: Is this a BOC level need or is this being

resolved within PW and/or county administrator level activity?

• OGEC Public Records and Meetng Laws 2024/25: Let’s arrange

training for our organizaton ASAP and if possible, facilitate

countywide training where possible for all special districts and

governing bodies.


In closing today, I have reflected a great deal in the last two weeks about

how I may have brought my concerns to my cohorts that could have been

more incremental. My interest is in improving organizatonal management and transparency. These are not politcal motvatons. I am motvated by creatng transparent shared processes and policy refinement. My desire is that all elected officials represent our community collectvely as a unified and collaboratve voice where possible.


Regards,

Casey Miller


Comments from Commissioner Hall:

We rely on our legal counsel’s office to apprise us of laws and requirements, A month ago, we were contacted by yachatsnews.com about the deflection subcommittee and why the meetings were not open to the public. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission advised that these meetings were subject to public meeting law, and that information was provided to the committee.  Several committee members including the sheriff and DA objected to making the meetings public. Commissioner Miller was part of these meetings. After our attorneys provided the information from OGEC, Mr. Miller retaliated at our September 18 meeting. I am saddened that Commissioner Miller and others seem to want to impact those who are trying to uphold the law. I am also committed to supporting our staff, who have dealt with this difficult situation with professionalism and integrity.





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