Floyd County board meeting heats up over rights issue

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A discussion on constitutional rights and the intended meaning of statements at a previous meeting turned heated at the Floyd County Board of Supervisors session Monday morning.

Supervisor Mark Kuhn said that Supervisor Linda Tjaden, the current board chairwoman, was restricting his First Amendment rights of free speech by telling him he couldn’t write letters to the editor or guest columns in publications without bringing it up before the board first.

The topic had first come up during the part of an April 10 meeting where supervisors update each other on recent meetings and other activities.

Tjaden said her concern was only when Kuhn sent letters on official Board of Supervisors letterhead, because that gives the impression that the letter is speaking for the entire board.

“Absolutely, you have your right for comments,” Tjaden said. “Any of your (opinions) that you’re putting in there — they’re your statements as long as they weren’t sent on Board of Supervisor letterhead.”

But Kuhn said Tjaden’s statements at the April 10 meeting referred more than once to letters and opinions in general that he had written.

Kuhn said, “Clearly, I differ with your opinions that the subject of the discussion was only letters on supervisor letterhead. Read the minutes. It’s in there as well. We’re not talking just about letters on county supervisor letterhead.”

Supervisor Doug Kamm said, “I thing what you’ve done, Mark, is you’ve taken a sound bite that makes it sound like all letters. That was never the intent. The intent is only those letters that you are writing on supervisor letterhead. … I think you’ve taken that out of context.”

“I think it violates my rights guaranteed in the First Amendment,” Kuhn said.

From there the discussion turned into a back-and-forth between Kuhn and Kamm, with each one talking over the other.

“You’re acting like a petulant child,” Kamm said. “What do you want us to do?”

“I want you to respect the First Amendment of the Constitution,” Kuhn said. “I am stating my belief that you violated my First Amendment rights when you stated to me, and it clearly to me is a directive, ‘that I would just like to make sure that it is a line item on our agenda so we can discuss it before it goes out.’”

Kamm again accused Kuhn of acting like a child.

“My First Amendment rights and the First Amendment rights of every member of this board are not to be compared to a child,” Kuhn said, pounding his fist on the table.

“Chairman Tjaden, I believe your directive created this situation the board is in now,” Kuhn said. “I’m asking you to do something about it so everyone, including candidates for the position of supervisor, know what Floyd County’s policy is regarding letters to the editor from members of the board.

“I think it’s past time to ask the county attorney for her opinion,” he said. “This issue is very real.”

Tjaden said she would talk to the county attorney.

As a matter of Iowa law, the chairman of a board of supervisors sets the agenda and runs board meetings, but has little power over other supervisors.

According to Iowa code 331.302(1), a county board of supervisors can take action or create policy only by a majority vote of the board, through a motion, a resolution, an amendment or an ordinance.

Also at the planning meeting Monday, the board:

• Discussed transferring to the general fund about $33,000 left over in an old infrastructure fund that had been used to fund improvements for county housing projects. The intent would be to then use that money to pay for a countywide housing needs assessment proposed by the Charles City Area Development Corp.
• Discussed several budget amendments including a small amendment to cover salary costs for the Veterans Affairs Office executive director; purchasing two replacement zero-turn radius mowers for Floyd County Conservation; and increasing funding for the medical examiner and public defender funds, among others. A public hearing will have to be scheduled before budget amendments can be voted on.
• Went through the annual county audit report with Elizabeth Thyer, a partner and CPA with Gardiner Thomsen Certified Public Accountants, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.