Avery County amends board policy to allow public comment on agenda items and adds conduct rule citing state statute

The Avery County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Dec. 18 to amend its Board Policy to clarify public comment procedures and to add a conduct provision.

The board adopted a change to Section 2 that, among other clarifications, adds paragraph 2.7(A): members of the public may speak on any one agenda item if they sign up before the meeting on a sheet provided by the clerk, listing name, community of residence and topic; each speaker (commissioners excluded) is limited to three minutes, with a maximum of 10 minutes total for three or more speakers addressing the same issue. The board also added Section 2.11, "Conduct of Meetings," authorizing the chair or presiding commissioner to ask any person who "willfully interrupts, disturbs or disrupts" a board meeting to leave; the resolution cites North Carolina General Statutes 143-318.17 and includes the statute's language: "A person who willfully interrupts, disturbs, or disrupts an official meeting and who, upon being directed to leave the meeting by the presiding officer, willfully refuses to leave the meeting is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor."

Later in the same session the board amended Section 3 to add agenda item 3.2 C, "Public Comment On Agenda Items," clarifying that public comment tied to specific agenda items is part of the agenda format. Dennis Aldridge moved to adopt the Section 2 resolution and Robert Burleson seconded; the motion passed 5-0. Junior Benfield moved to adopt the Section 3 resolution and Robert Burleson seconded; that motion also passed 5-0.

The resolutions reaffirmed other portions of Sections 2 and 3 unless specifically modified and authorized the chair to sign the resolutions. The transcript records the adopted language and the statutory citation but does not record subsequent implementation procedures such as a revised sign-up sheet, clerk process changes, or enforcement examples.