Public hammers Gilliam Court on restructure to board of commissioners

Concerns over a possible restructuring of Gilliam County's government brought several people to the Gilliam County Court session in Arlington on December 20, 2023.

To start the court meeting, local residents stepped forward to provide public testimony, with many under the impression that the court would vote immediately to suspend the Gilliam County Court and to restructure it into a board of commissioners.

However, the court did not take up the matter of restructuring and did not have such actions on the agenda. Instead, the court said it was using the session as an opportunity to listen to the public. At the time of writing, a court session is scheduled to be held at the South Gilliam Co. Emergency building in Condon on January 3, 2024, to give the public more opportunities for engagement on the subject.

But those offering testimony urged the court to halt its efforts to restructure the Gilliam County Court into a board of commissioners (BOC). Several people also questioned the motives of the court in its decision to relinquish juvenile and probate court duties to the Gilliam County Circuit Court.

Former Gilliam County Judge Steve Shaffer gave a pointed call to cease any further discussion on the matter.

Chris Patnode, who is running for Gilliam County Judge, said that she believes the Gilliam County Court cannot be restructured without an intervention from the Oregon Legislature. Patnode has served as Gilliam Co. Justice of the Peace for nearly 30 years and has been a vocal critic of the proposed changes to the county court. Her brother, Commissioner Pat Shannon, is helping to lead the efforts of restructuring.

Six counties in Oregon have a county judge - Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler, Grant, Harney, and Malheur – but only Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler had retained the juvenile jurisdiction. That is, until recently. Gilliam County moved juvenile and probate court jurisdiction to the circuit court effective December 13, 2023.

Until 2017, Morrow County had a county court but changed to a board of commissioners. In doing so, Morrow County relinquished its probate jurisdiction to circuit court and created new governing rules for the board of commissioners. The change was contentious and several court sessions in Heppner were highly charged.

Commissioner Pat Shannon said that he has spoken with several current and former elected officials in Eastern Oregon counties in recent months. Shannon said that those conversations have shaped his stance on juvenile and probate jurisdiction and for restructuring the county court.

In 2018, Elizabeth Farrar Campbell won the election for Gilliam County Judge. Farrar Campbell campaigned on a pledge to modernize the Gilliam County government and to look at juvenile court and a board of commissioners.

Under Judge Farrar Campbell, the court began transferring all juvenile cases to the circuit court in 2019.

Judge Farrar Campbell said that the county court has worked with its legal counsel and with an outside law firm on the issue of juvenile and probate court, prior to its decision to transfer jurisdiction on December 6. She also said that she has discussed the probate jurisdictional issue with former Morrow County Commissioner Don Russel.

But beyond the probate and juvenile court decision, there are several additional factors that the court must consider if it should restructure to a board of commissioners.

Tri-County Veterans Services Officer Erik Akin asked how intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) between the county court and partners would be impacted under such a change. Akin said that he had experienced turmoil in Hood River County when changes to the county government put IGAs in jeopardy.

The Gilliam County Court has numerous IGAs in place with special districts, the Port of Arlington, non-profits, and other partners.

The court will continue to discuss establishing a board of directors at the upcoming session on January 3, 2024. It will also discuss the hiring of a county administrator.

Morrow County adopted the same model when it changed to a board of commissioners in 2017. There, the County Administrator is appointed by the board of commissioners and provides supervision over county departments and assists with planning and coordination of county operations.