commissioners speaking for the board and using the chair title

2:11:02we're flying. Great discussion though. Alright, we'll close that and now we go to R forty nine from She Yeager.

2:11:08Alright. Well I uh just wanted to make it clear on our board rules uh when we are speaking for the board or speaking for us as elected individual commissioners. So I asked uh county attorney if he could help with that.

2:11:27So I did um Commissioner Yeager did ask me to draft a rule to address um primarily the issue of When the board is out in the public um acting on behalf of the board, under what circumstances do you have authority to speak for the board as a whole? Um So I've tried to draft a rule to address that situation. First I tried to address the situation where you're attending in a groundbreaking,

2:11:58a ribbon cutting. Some celebration, etc., made it perfectly clear that in those situations that you do have authority to express appreciation on behalf of the full board. You don't need any delegated authority to do that. You can speak for the board at those ceremonial events. I don't think there's much controversy about that because you're probably doing that now. Um The more difficult issue to deal with, okay, what if it's a policy issue? So um what I've tried to draft here, if

2:12:28it's a policy issue, is a limitation that you not speak for the entire board unless the board has Voted to take an action on that policy issue and delegated authority to one of you to speak for the board. So for example, I'll give you an example. Say it's the board's legislative agenda, and the board adopts the legislative agenda and they send one of you up to DC or Tallahassee to speak in that legislative agenda, that would be an example of a situation where the board has

2:12:58voted on that legislative agenda, the delegated authority for you to advocate for the board, for that legislative agenda, and you have that delegated authority to speak for the board in that circumstance. If you don't have that delegated authority, what this rule says is that you can still speak on policy issues and you will have the First Amendment right to speak on policy all you want, but it says that if you're going to do that, you make it clear that you're speaking either in your individual capacity or in your capacity as a commission commissioner

2:13:28of your individual district and not for the entire board. Question.

2:13:33If I use the word I, what does that mean?

2:13:37I think I is in your individual capacity. Thank you. Um now what this does make clear though is that if you're speaking in your individual capacity, that you not use your board-elected position when you're when you're engaging in that. um in that individual capacity. So the theory is because if the board has elected you to be either chair or vice chair or second vice chair, that is a board elected position that you all sort of a collectively

2:14:07re-delected you to that position. So if you use that term The public may believe that you are speaking on ta on behalf of the entire board if you're using that elected position.

2:14:19Even if I use the word I all through my statements or through someone's statements.

2:14:24If you're only using I, you're not using chairman, I don't think then I think that you're just speaking in your individual capacity.

2:14:29If someone's reading a letter. And they're looking at the letter. Aye. That pronoun meaning one person. It goes with the whole thing. When you get down at the very end, whether it says what district you're from or whether chair or vice chair, doesn't really matter.

2:14:45What this rule says is that if you're using chair, that implies that you're speaking on behalf of the entire board.

2:14:53If you if you wanna if it's I, what this rule says you should be saying either just Commissioner Mariano

2:15:00or if I was representing the board I would would say we.

2:15:06Is there any way to clarify, like if I was writing something, I would say I, you know, am speaking on behalf of

2:15:16I I guess my I guess my question back to you is if it is just in your individual capacity Why do you feel like the need to put the word chair? Why do you need to feel the need to sign it chair at the end?

2:15:30Don't it was just an after

2:15:32that. So if that's the only problem, I'm okay with just leaving chair or ice chair when you're writing your own stuff. I don't care.

2:15:40That's the per the primary process.

2:15:42That's all we need though. We don't need all the other mumbo jumbo with it. And I think I don't even need to put something in writing. That could be just a policy we do. If we're gonna write something on our behalf, we can say the district we're from and leave it at that. Why don't we get more complex than that?

2:16:00I mean it's up to the board whether you want to put in your written rules or not. Mr. Chairman Mariano.

2:16:08I remember when I when I was chair, the only time I actually uh spoke for the board was when someone asked me to write a letter or something of that in support. And I'd always ask for a vote and we all voted. And that's when I would use it as speaking for the board. I never really spoke for the board. Other than being recognized as chair and you're speaking at a groundbreaking or something of that nature. You know, you wouldn't normally speak that way 'cause you're

2:16:38chair and you would be given that privilege to do so. But other times I'm speaking as Ron Oakley Commissioner District One and that's that's it. So um

2:16:51Yeah. I think there is a distinction when you're talking about a policy versus at a ribbon cutting or something like that. You certainly shouldn't be speaking about a policy and then put in the word chair unless it's a policy that the board has voted on. And it's

2:17:13which makes it real difficult during our meeting. because the chair is the chair, but he's also a spokesman for his district. So at a meet board meeting like this, if you're speaking sometimes, you will be recognized because you're chairman as speaking for the board, whether you are speaking for yourself or the board.

2:17:32That's different because we're all

2:17:33it's happened, yeah. And we're all here.

2:17:36Right.

2:17:37Yeah.

2:17:37I mean I think it's I I think it can't hurt to have you know, just safeguards in place, but that's just my opinion opinion because I would just me speaking as for commissioner in my district, I want to make sure that nothing is said on my behalf. Like I that that is that may be that person's feelings, but not my feelings. So and um Um especially, you know, w when it comes to policy. I may have a differ a different

2:18:07opinion than someone else. So I would want to just make sure that they're speaking for themselves and not for the board. So I I think safeguards are are good. That's my opinion. But it's the pleasure of the board.

2:18:24I'm in Mr. Weightman. I'm indifferent.

2:18:27But I'm kinda on island sometimes on policy matters anyway. Um

2:18:33Whatever makes the majority feel comfortable where I am with it.

2:18:39So there is a change because I uh

2:18:42I don't think there's anything wrong with what this is saying. It's for for all of us.

2:18:46Oh, I thought there was two pages.

2:18:50We need a recess to read this, Chairman. Well you could change that. I tried to put it in large

2:18:55print so that so that change that to my font and that there's a thirty pages. Yeah, I I tried to change the font so it was readable.

2:19:10What it was I won't say here. Um, but I refuse to sign it. Because even though I was chair my board had not voted on it and I said, I will not do that to my board

2:19:23Yeah.

2:19:24Um really shame on you for asking me. And Um It wouldn't have in my opinion, it would have put everyone in jeopardy and I wouldn't I wouldn't do it. So

2:19:37Well that's there's discretion in everything, right? And that was good discretion.

2:19:42I and I yeah I I can appreciate it. And I and again, I don't think

2:19:47And that was a powerful person who was asking me to sign something,

2:19:49let

2:19:49me tell you.

2:19:50Mm-hmm.

2:19:51So I I just think that If you're gonna be speaking for yourself and you wanna put your district down, so be it, leave it at that. Just don't mention that you're chair or vice chair, and let the pronouns say what you're saying. And I'm okay with changing that. Do I do you think I need a big page document like this? I really don't. I think we just gotta agree. I'm not gonna do that.

2:20:13Right. Yeah. That's understandable.

2:20:18No but that's

2:20:18a different topic.

2:20:21Alright. Anything else on this issue?

2:20:22Well, I happen to I

2:20:23have

2:20:24some.

2:20:24Well I guess I just need to know whether um am I are you all asking me to put this in your rules or not? I'm not.

2:20:33I don't know if that's a good thing. We've had a good conversation. I'm not sure that's so necessary, but

2:20:41Alright, well I think

2:20:43we had the

2:20:44discussion on that.

2:20:45Good point made.