Commissioner to seek resolution clarifying public-comment rules for workshops under Tennessee law

Commissioner Shaver told the Loudon County Commission at its Sept. 15 workshop that he will ask for a resolution at the next formal meeting to clarify how the county handles public comment at workshops under recent state law.

Shaver said the state law requires public comments at public meetings to be germane to the agenda at formal meetings and that workshops—if truly nonactionable—are treated differently in the statute. He said county attorney Bob Bowman had drafted a resolution to create a reserved period during workshops and proposed a three-minute limit per speaker, with the chairman able to expand time depending on circumstances.

“Can we not go back to our workshops like we used to where they can’t? Take our regular meetings out. We're going to comply with the state law at our regular meetings to remain to the agenda. He [Bob] said yes,” Shaver said, describing his conversations with the county attorney. He added that Bowman recommended a resolution to make the policy part of the county’s procedures so it is clear to the public and staff.

Chairman and other commissioners discussed statutory language and noted that the Tennessee statute quoted in the agenda says a governing body should provide a period for public comment but that the germane-to-agenda requirement applies to meetings where actionable items are on the agenda. The chairman cautioned that changing the statute itself would require action at the state legislature in Nashville.

Shaver said he will ask that Bowman’s resolution appear on the next commission meeting agenda for a vote; commissioners did not take a vote at the Sept. 15 workshop.

The workshop record shows the matter as a referral to the next formal meeting for potential action; the draft resolution language and the county attorney’s opinion were referenced at the workshop but not enacted.