After months of delays on a permanent decision, the Hamilton County Commission narrowly voted to change its meeting time and dock the amount of meetings per month.
Beginning April 1, the commission will meet at 5 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. That’s a change from meeting every week at the prior temporary meeting time at 4 p.m., and the decades-long history of meeting at 9:30 a.m.
Several people during the public comment period said after the vote passed that they were concerned about the lengthiness of meetings if they occur twice a month and the confusion that may happen about what days of the month meetings fall on.
Still, an additional vote after those comments failed to bring the idea back to the table for reconsideration, cementing the change permanently after months of debate.
Commissioner Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, a year ago brought up the idea of changing the meeting time to late afternoon or evening to accommodate people with 9-to-5 jobs who want to come and speak to the commission. A vote passed in September to temporarily move the meeting to 4 p.m. from 9:30 a.m. on a trial basis, and another vote passed in January to extend the trial to March.