Productivity vs. public comments

The county commission normally has its meetings on Wednesday mornings, with the third Wednesday as an evening meeting. The commission also has two study sessions on alternating Monday mornings.

At the first of the year, commissioners voted 3-2 to schedule one regular night meeting a month during 2008.

A majority of the commissioners were unwilling to change and Commissioner Don Hay, who had pushed for more night meetings, turned down an alternative during Monday’s study session.

“It’s well known that the people want evening meetings,” Hay said.

Without night meetings, it would be difficult for people who work during the day to attend a county meeting, he said.

Commission Chair Sue Farrell said she wouldn’t object to more night meetings but said she wasn’t sure if she would support making all of the county commission meetings at night.

Other commissioners didn’t agree.

“I don’t think night meetings are all that productive,” Commissioner Ed Taylor said.

Commissioner Don Stottlemire said most of the 21 people who attended the last Wednesday night meeting were retired or didn’t have day jobs.

Stottlemire said he counted six people in the audience who had day jobs — and two of those were news reporters.

One of the other people with a day job who attended hadn’t been to a commission meeting in six years, he said.

Stottlemire said he was unwilling to change the schedule because he also attends city council meetings in his district in eastern Franklin County and most of those are on Monday and Wednesday nights.

It’s often difficult to fill the night meeting agendas, Lisa Johnson, interim county administrator, said.

Although Johnson said she can require department heads to show up at the night meetings, she said she can’t make outside agencies, businesses or other governments’ officials attend the night meetings.

Many of those groups’ representatives only want to meet with the county commission during day meetings and often are unwilling to come to night meetings, she said.

Both Farrell and Taylor said they were willing to schedule “town-hall meetings” on different nights to allow people to express concerns or make complaints to the commissioners.

“I always support the public’s right to speak and complain,” Farrell said. “Maybe the town-hall meetings will give people a better opportunity to to voice their concerns.”

Then comments would be considered or acted upon at regular meetings, Farrell and Taylor said.

However, Hay said he wasn’t satisfied with town-hall meetings and said he would vote against them.

“The people want to come and see business meetings,” Hay said.

They can be more sure of their comments being acted upon at a business meeting, he said.

Without Hay’s support, there was no point in pursuing the town-hall meeting idea, Farrell said. She ended the discussion.