Loudon County Commission restores public comment at workshops, extends time to five minutes

The Loudon County Commission voted on Oct. 6 to allow public comments during county workshops without restricting comments to matters specifically on the workshop agenda, and the commission amended the proposal to extend the speaker time limit from three minutes to five minutes.

Commissioner Van Shaver moved to add a resolution to allow public comments at workshops. After discussion and a public comment urging broader public comment rules, Commissioner Quillen offered an amendment to increase the per-speaker time allotment from three minutes to five minutes; commissioners approved the amendment by voice vote, then approved the resolution to permit public comments at workshops without a requirement that comments be germane only to agenda items.

Members of the public addressed the commission during the general public comment period before the vote. Blake Moore, who identified himself as a Loudon County resident, asked that any changes be reviewed by the Governmental Affairs Committee and that the county consider aligning workshop rules with state-level legislation sponsored by State Representative Elaine Davis; he referenced House Bill 22, which the transcript notes would require governing bodies to reserve a period for public comment on matters germane to the agenda and on any matter germane to the governing body's jurisdiction. Pat Hunter, another resident, urged the commission to send the resolution back to committee for careful review and flagged criminal penalties for disruptive behavior in meetings under Tennessee Code Annotated §39-17-306 as part of the legal context to consider.

Commissioners debated whether the change should go to committee for study and whether the county should adopt a written proposal for public review; ultimately the body passed the time amendment and the motion to allow comments at workshops by voice votes.

The adopted change alters workshop procedure; the county clerk noted that minutes are required for actionable meetings. The commission did not record any additional procedural limits or an immediate written policy at the meeting; several speakers asked for a formal written proposal to be prepared and posted to the public record for committee review.