Harnett County to move to three monthly voting meetings starting in December after narrow survey majority

The Harnett County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 3 to change its meeting schedule to three voting meetings per month, effective with the first meeting in December.

The change follows a county survey that closed Oct. 24 in which 53% of respondents said they would be interested in adding an evening meeting. Staff presented the survey and noted scheduling conflicts: the Harnett County Planning Board and the Harnett County Board of Education both meet on the first Monday of each month, complicating a simple switch of the existing first‑Monday meeting to evening hours.

Under the approved approach, the board will retain its first‑Monday daytime meeting (to preserve access for residents who attend daytime sessions), add a regular work session and add a third monthly evening voting meeting so residents who cannot attend daytime sessions retain an evening option. The board discussed minor potential budget impacts if salaried or overtime‑eligible staff are asked to attend evening meetings; staff said compensatory time or overtime could be used and characterized the cost as minor and infrequent.

The board directed staff to return with a recommended 2026 meeting calendar at the Nov. 17 meeting to meet the statutory deadline to adopt a meeting schedule by Dec. 1.

Provenance: Staff presented the survey results beginning at 00:37:12 and the motion to adopt three voting meetings was made and passed beginning at 00:40:03.