Blount County rules committee elects chair, debates speaking limits and meeting procedures

The Blount County Board of Commissioners Rules Committee elected Commissioner Jared Anderson as chair and Commissioner Rick Carver as vice chair and reviewed a range of proposed changes to the county’s meeting rules, including limits on commissioners’ speaking time, meeting start times, a budget consent calendar threshold and public comment and conduct guidelines.

The committee approved its published agenda and minutes from the ad hoc committee that reviewed the board rules; both motions passed on unanimous voice votes recorded as five yes votes. Members then discussed several proposed rule changes and options for drafting language to return to the full commission for consideration.

Why it matters: The Rules Committee is charged with drafting and refining the procedures that govern how the full Blount County Commission conducts meetings, how members and the public participate, and how routine items are handled. Changes the committee recommends would go to the full commission for final approval.

Committee elections and procedural votes The committee opened with nominations for committee leadership. After nominations and a voice vote, Commissioner Jared Anderson was approved to serve as committee chair. Later in the meeting Commissioner Rick Carver was nominated by Commissioner French and seconded by Commissioner Giles and was approved by voice vote as vice chair. The published agenda for the meeting and the minutes of the March 29, 2022 ad hoc meeting to review commissioner rules were each approved; the clerk announced five yes votes on both motions.

Substantive rule topics discussed Members spent the majority of the meeting discussing a package of procedural topics they said they would draft into formal rule language for later consideration: - Speaking limits and question protocols: Several commissioners proposed reducing individual speaking time from the current 10 minutes to a suggested 5 minutes for a first round and 3 minutes for subsequent rounds, and discussed whether a third round should be reserved for questions and answers. Committee members demonstrated that the meeting timer can be stopped and restarted when a commissioner pauses to ask or answer a question; staff indicated the timer’s operation allows the presiding officer or the clerk to pause the clock when appropriate. - Meeting start times and coordination: Commissioners discussed shifting workshop and commission start times to reduce long waits for members who attend multiple committee meetings. Suggestions included aligning workshop and commission start times or moving the start to 6 p.m.; commissioners agreed to bring options to the full commission for a vote. - Budget consent calendar: One proposal would create a separate budget consent calendar for routine budget items that have cleared the budget committee with unanimous support and fall below a dollar threshold (one example discussed was $250,000). Any single commissioner would retain the right to pull an item for separate discussion and vote. - Sponsors for resolutions and deadlines: A commissioner asked that the committee consider removing the requirement that resolutions have two sponsors, arguing the requirement can be used to block items from the agenda. Committee members also identified inconsistencies in the rules’ references to “working days” versus “calendar days” for submission deadlines and discussed aligning the rules with state code, which uses working days. - Public comment, online access and audiovisual upgrades: The committee discussed codifying customary practices for public comment (for example, one speaker at a time), developing viewpoint-neutral guidelines, and improving online access. Staff reported plans to add cameras and explore livestreaming via YouTube or Facebook; members noted concerns about comment moderation on social platforms and suggested researching options and likely budget implications. - Professional meeting protocols: Multiple commissioners raised the idea of adding expectations about conduct (for example, limits on eating or sporting-event viewing, cell-phone use and hat-wearing) to the rules or as published guidelines. Members favored drafting guidance that could be presented to the full commission for approval. - Attendance, ethics and enforcement: Commissioners asked whether the county has clear attendance expectations and what enforcement options exist. Members reviewed that the county has an existing ethics resolution adopted as “Resolution 0704014” establishing an ethics code for officials and employees, and discussed that enforcement for elected officials is limited largely to voter actions or, in narrow circumstances, formal legal remedies; the committee agreed to review language and return recommendations to the full commission.

Next steps and scheduling Committee members agreed to draft concrete language on the discussed items and meet again before presenting recommendations to the full commission. The chair said he would convene a follow-up meeting (tentatively scheduled to coincide after the Planning Commission meeting) and asked the clerk to solicit suggestions from other commissioners in a manner consistent with open-meeting rules.

Votes at a glance - Election of committee chair: Jared Anderson approved by voice vote; no opposition recorded. (Outcome: approved.) - Election of committee vice chair: Rick Carver nominated by Commissioner French, seconded by Commissioner Giles; approved by voice vote; no opposition recorded. (Outcome: approved.) - Approval of agenda as published: motion by Commissioner Giles, second by Commissioner Carver; roll call reported five yes votes. (Outcome: approved.) - Approval of minutes (ad hoc committee review of rules, 03/29/2022): motion by Commissioner French, second by Commissioner Michaels; roll call reported five yes votes. (Outcome: approved.)

The committee emphasized that any policy or rule changes developed by this group will be forwarded to the full Blount County Commission for final consideration and formal adoption.