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Hamilton County commissioners delay meeting-time change, keep 4 p.m. schedule through March 11
Summary
After hours of debate and competing amendments, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners voted 9–2 to adopt Resolution 1 26-18 as amended, continuing 4:00 p.m. meetings through March 11 and directing staff to prepare a resolution for a formal vote on that date.
The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners debated competing proposals to change its regular meeting time on Jan. 14, then approved Resolution 1 26-18 as amended, keeping the countycommission's regular meetings at 4:00 p.m. until March 11.
Commissioner Highlander moved to approve the resolution as amended, and Commissioner Baker seconded. The final roll call on the approval was 9 in favor, 2 opposed; Commissioners Chauncey and Shipley voted no. Earlier in the session, commissioners considered amendments to revert weekly meetings to 9:30 a.m., to move them to 5:00 p.m. (every meeting), or to meet the first and third Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m. Those initial amendment attempts failed or were withdrawn amid procedural discussion and requests for more precise cost estimates.
Cost concerns were central to the debate. Commissioner Graham warned that a commonly cited estimate of $1,600 per meeting, if applied to four meetings a month, would total roughly $76,800 a year: "If we calculated at $1,600, meeting...Times 12 months, that's $76,800," he said, urging further research before committing to recurring expense. County staff said the $1,600 figure was a rough estimate and that a tighter analysis might reduce it.
Commissioner Sharp withdrew his motion to set all meetings at 5 p.m. and instead proposed a deferral: continue current 4:00 p.m. meetings while county officials prepare a clearer cost analysis and return with a resolution for consideration. The clerk confirmed the commission would continue its 4:00 p.m. schedule until March 11, when the county attorney's office is expected to have a resolution on the agenda.
Public speakers at the meeting urged several compromises. Noah Johnston proposed an approach that would limit night meetings to one every three weeks while preserving public-comment opportunities; some residents sought targeted evening hearings for controversial zoning items rather than a blanket schedule change.
The board's action was procedural: it adopted Resolution 1 26-18 as amended to preserve the current 4:00 p.m. meeting time until March 11 and directed staff to bring a formal resolution for consideration on that date. No change to the county's long-term meeting schedule was finalized; the matter will return to the agenda with requested cost details and a recommended timetable.
