Please enter this letter into the public record and consider these points when debating the county’s mask mandate.
The “health vs. freedom” arguments you are sure to hear do not need to be part of this letter.
Others will undoubtedly weigh in strongly on both sides of that.
Instead, I remind you that the county has in the past been in court over the powers of th health board and of the library board. Regarding both boards, the courts ruled that the county has little authority over those boards. I do not believe actions of this year’s state legislature will change that in the long run in the eyes of the court. When two county entities fight in court, taxpayers foot the bill for both sides and I would rather not see my tax money squandered that way.
In addition, chipping away at the authority of the health board seems ill-advised for reasons totally unconnected to the current pandemic. The health board oversees other disease outbreaks such as the fairly common pertussis outbreaks in our schools. The health board also deals with violations of health and safety precautions in the county’s eateries serving the public. I do not want their hands tied in either of those areas or in other areas under their current purview.
If the commissioners feel strongly about the mask man-date, the proper route is for you to voice your positions individually to the health board.
Please do not entangle the commission as a body with the fight over the mask mandate.
Thanks for your consideration and for your work on behalf of the county’s citizens.
— Janice Anderson
Boulder
