Commissioners consider changes in board responsibilities

The Flathead County commissioners rearranged their board on Monday, naming Gary Hall as chairman for 2005.

They also considered appointing themselves to various other boards and commissions, but postponed any action for now, saying they'll take the issue under advisement.

Collectively, the three commissioners sit on at least 24 different local, state and regional boards, in addition to their regular commissioner duties. The issues these bodies deal with range from the critical to the mundane, including such topics as mental health, economic development, emergency services and road names and addresses.

Last year, Commissioner Bob Watne was assigned to three boards. Commissioner Hall was responsible for 10.

On Monday, Hall suggested shifting some of his load to Watne. Specifically, he wanted Watne to take responsibility for the Technical Advisory Committee and the Transportation Advisory Board, both of which deal with transportation issues.

Watne resisted the move, however, saying the board appointments were traditionally just rolled over from year to year.

That status quo proposal offered little comfort to incoming Commissioner Joe Brenneman, though, given that he could potentially be assigned to all 11 boards and committees for which former Commissioner Howard Gipe was responsible.

"I don't even know what some of these boards do," Brenneman said.

In a November interview, Brenneman noted that there seemed to be an "imbalance" in the number of boards for which the three commissioners are responsible.

Barring any changes in those responsibilities, the boards and committees that they would be assigned to are as follows:

. Watne: County Solid Waste and Refuse Disposal District; City-County Health Board; County Compensation Board.

. Hall: Technical Advisory Committee; Transportation Advisory Board; Agency on Aging; Flathead Valley Economic Development Authority; Montana Coalition of Forest Counties; County Compensation Board; RSVP; Resource, Conservation and Development; Road Names and Addresses Committee; County Building Committee.

. Brenneman: Chemical Dependency; Comprehensive Development Center; Western Montana Regional Mental Health Center; Family Advisory Council; DUI Task Force; Montana Community Partners; Local Emergency Planning Committee; Health Department Review Committee; Western Montana Regional Juvenile Detention; County Compensation Board; Glacier Performing Arts Council.

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com