Rules committee recommends earlier start time and simpler monthly calendar for county meetings

The Blount County Commission Rules Committee voted Feb. 25 to forward a package of scheduling changes that would move commission and workshop start times to 6 p.m. and simplify the monthly meeting calendar to fixed Thursdays.

Committee members said the proposed change — modifying rule 1 (main meeting start time) and rule 12 (workshop start time) — would replace the current variable schedule and make deadlines easier to remember. The nut graf: the calendar proposal sets the agenda‑items deadline on the first Thursday of each month, workshop and budget meetings on the second Thursday, and the full commission meeting on the third Thursday.

Under the recommendation, both the regular commission meeting and the commission workshop would begin at 6 p.m., rather than the current 6:30 p.m. start for one or both meetings. Committee members discussed whether the workshop and budget committee should be on the same calendar day (the second Thursday) and confirmed the clerk and staff had reviewed turnaround times and did not expect administrative hardship from the change.

Commissioner Giles moved to forward the rule 1 and rule 12 changes and the alternate calendar idea; Commissioner French seconded. The clerk recorded four yes votes and the committee voted to forward the recommendation. Committee members also asked staff to update rule 12 wording to explicitly say “commission workshop meetings shall be held at least one week prior to commission meetings.”

The committee asked staff to consider overlaps with school‑board deadlines and to verify holidays when calculating the one‑week submission window. The proposal will be included with the committee’s packet to the full commission for consideration.