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Allegany County board keeps committee meeting start time at 10 a.m. after scheduling debate
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Summary
After a split survey and debate about mornings, afternoons and an 8 a.m. proposal, the chair proposed and the board agreed to settle on a consistent 10 a.m. start time and asked staff to refine a schedule so meetings do not run into lunch.
The chair (S5) said the May committee calendar showed a 50/50 split on whether to hold committee meetings in the mornings or afternoons and asked members how to proceed. After members discussed wasted downtime, caucusing needs and logistics, one member (S8) proposed starting committees at 8 a.m. to finish by noon: “I propose that we start meetings at 08:00 in the morning and be done by noon.”
Staff noted county business hours start at 8:30 a.m., and other members worried about practical constraints for staff and attendees. The chair responded, “Let's do 10. Keep it consistent at 10,” instructing Brenda's office to draft a schedule indicating which committees should meet on which weeks and how long they should be allotted to help keep meetings from running into lunch.
Board members said they favored giving department heads a predictable start time and avoiding a moving target (10 a.m. one week, 10:30 the next). Several members suggested shorter scheduled meeting windows or programming shorter committees earlier and longer committees later so that lengthy meetings do not delay others.
The chair's direction was procedural rather than a formal vote: the group agreed to keep committee start times at 10 a.m., and staff were asked to develop a refined timetable to improve efficiency and protect lunch periods for staff and the public.
Next steps: Brenda's office will be asked to propose a committee-week schedule and recommended durations for each committee; no formal ordinance or rule change was recorded in the transcript.
