On Flathead rabies vaccinations, veterinarians 7, commissioners 0
At the InterLake, Lynette Hintz reports that the Flathead County Commission will let the county’s board of health manage rabies. That decision, which appears to be a good one, comes after the commissioners were lobbied by local veterinarians, and I suspect, more than a few irate dog owners and public health advocates.
There are some takeaways from this debate that are worth noting.
- There’s a hole in Montana’s statutes where a law requiring rabies vaccinations for pets should exist. Although it hasn’t stopped the issue from being addressed at the county level elsewhere in the state, that hole should be filled. There’s still time for state authorities to request that the legislature pass a bill this session to do just that.
- There are situations in which (a) state law neither explicitly authorizes nor forbids the commissioners from enacting an ordinance or making a decision, and (b) doing nothing is not responsible governance. In these situations the commissioners must stick out their necks to do the right thing. That’s what they were elected to do. And they should have the wisdom and courage to do it without first being taken to task fortississimo by an outraged community.
- Because there are only three commissioners, two cannot discuss an issue privately without violating Montana’s open meeting law. The problem isn’t the law. It’s the structure of the commission. I wish the voters would approve a commission comprising five or seven commissioners elected at large to four-year terms. That would allow two commissioners to have a quiet cup of coffee to informally discuss county issues without being haled into court for meeting secretly. Our current three-commissioner structure is so stupid I’m amazed that a man of the cloth has not claimed it’s God’s punishment for something.
