Commission tables second reading of social host ordinance

The Hill County Commission in its weekly business meeting Thursday voted to table the second reading of a social host ordinance because the commissioners wanted more time to gather public opinion and investigate possible changes to the ordinance which would require the reading process to start over.

The ordinance would make it a violation for the social host of a party or event who knows, or reasonably should know, that underage people are drinking alcohol to not make reasonable attempts to prevent it.

The ordinance states that the host does not need to be present for the law to apply and could result in a misdemeanor charge.

A similar ordinance has been in place in Havre for more than 10 years, and advocates of it argue that it has been beneficial and has proven to help reduce underage drinking, and Hill County at large would benefit from it as well.

The commissioners said they have received numerous concerns from members of the public regarding the ordinance and its implications if passed.

“There’s a lot of concerns we’ve got out in the county,” Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said.

“We want to make sure that everyone is heard and we get it done right,” Hill County Commissioner Jake Strissel added.

The commissioners mentioned they have talked to people who are in favor of the ordinance including the Hill County Sheriff’s Office and Havre Public Schools Superintendent Craig Mueller, but they said they still have concerns.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said she’s concerned that the language in the ordinance is too subjective, and Peterson brought up the possibility of the ordinance being used to charge people who own large pieces of land that underage people might use for a party without their knowledge.

“It says in the ordinance that the landowner could be held responsible, well that landowner might live in Washington,” Peterson said.

This concern has been brought up by the commissioners repeatedly over the past few weeks of discussing the ordinance and Brurud has repeatedly answered it by pointing out that that is not how the ordinance and ones like it have been historically used, and that it is primarily targeted at people who provide alcohol to minors and host parties they then claim they didn’t know about but clearly did.

She said officers don’t, and in many cases can’t, bring charges against people who obviously couldn’t have known or didn’t know a party was going on on their land, but against people who couldn’t have been unaware of such an event and then claim otherwise.

Hill County Youth Reporting Center Coordinator Matt Erdel, another advocate of the ordinance, agreed with Brurud.

“It can really only be pressed if it’s prima facie obvious that there is someone hosting something that is dangerous to minors,” he said.

Peterson was also not convinced by that answer.

“You say, ‘Well that would never happen,’” he said. “Never say never.”

Brurud also said the ordinance is usually only used in repeated or egregious cases, acting as an education device and deterrent most of the time anyway.

McLean argued that if it’s only used in egregious or repeated circumstances then it may not be necessary at all.

Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown also questioned the necessity of the ordinance, saying that state law already prohibits supplying alcohol to minor and the ordinance may be redundant in that case.

She also said the language of the ordinance needs to be cleared up.

Brurud said she could provide help with that.

Brurud said she understands that implementing a social host ordinance that applies to the county at large will be complicated, but the need for it extends beyond the city limits.

Brurud cited the testimony of Montana State University-Northern Criminal Justice Professor Jack Bieger, who previously worked in law enforcement, and said in a commission meeting a few weeks ago that the ordinance is a tool he wishes he had back in his day and will make the job of Hill County Sheriff’s Office easier, as well as help prevent underage drinking.

Peterson compared the ordinance unfavorably to zero-tolerance policies he was made to follow during his time in law enforcement, which he said made things worse not better.

He said such policies had an adverse effect on the safety of minors by incentivising young people caught drinking to run away instead of giving up their alcohol and being taken home safely like they could before zero-tolerance.

“My concern is that you’re trying to put your thumb on them more and more and more and these kids need to learn to grow up,” he said.

Brurud said the ordinance only concerns itself directly with social hosts, not the minors themselves.

She asked the commission to stay in touch with SAAM Coalition which would be able to answer all of their questions easily. She also recommended consulting County Attorney Karen Alley.

At the meeting, the commission also unanimously approved a pair of resolutions amending Hill County’s budgets to receive CARES Act funds.

They also unanimously approved a contract for ambulance services with the city that was tabled last week due to concerns regarding accrued debt that have since been addressed in conversations with Brown and Hill County Auditor Kathy Olson.

The contract will be reviewed every five years.