The Catoosa County Commission has voted unanimously to move its time for citizen comments earlier in commission meetings, citing convenience for those who come to testify.
In a phone call, Commissioner Vanita Hullander said she proposed the change to make the commenting process easier for Catoosa County residents.
"If there's somebody there who truly needs to talk to the commissioners, then they're not having to sit through other comments, the business meeting," she said. "I just think it's going to be better to move it to the front."
Commissioner Chuck Harris said he had concerns that having the comments earlier in the meeting would make some county employees waiting to participate stay longer after working all day.
Commissioner Jeff Long agreed with Harris on the possibility of inconveniencing county employees and also said the comments were moved because he said bad language was used by commenters in front of community members awaiting recognition by the commission.
Commissioner Charlie Stephens said he supported the change so community members can voice their opinion on agenda items, and Larry Black, commission chair, said it was good business sense to have community comments before the commission votes on agenda items.
(READ MORE: Catoosa sales tax passes, approved by over 60% of voters)
Most local municipalities nearby also have their comments before county business, Hullander said, and it's been contentious since the comments were moved to the end of the meeting.
Even with the change, there will still be arguing at the commission meetings, Hullander said. She encouraged taxpayers to contact their commissioners with any issues before the meetings.
The change will take place at the county commission's next meeting, on July 2, according to Chad Young, the county attorney.
In a phone call, John Pless, county spokesperson, said Hullander proposed the change at the commission meeting early this month but the change had to be legally reviewed first.
Citizen comments would still come after county employee accolades, commission recognitions and some other routine meeting tasks, he said.
The decision to move citizen comments later in the meeting happened a few years ago before the current commission was in office, under former Chair Steven Henry, Pless said.
About two years ago, Henry resigned as chair of the commission to run unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat. Henry won a runoff election with Black on June 18 to be the Republican candidate for commission chair and will face a Democrat challenger, Greg Bentley, in the fall.
Black won the chair seat about two years ago in a special election.
Hullander also lost her runoff election that same night, and runoff winner Richard Tharpe will face Democrat Alex Brady for the District 3 seat this fall.
(READ MORE: Both incumbents ousted in Catoosa County commission Republican primary runoff)
Nick Ware, a frequent commenter at county commission meetings and a recent unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for chair, said he's glad to hear the comments were moved earlier in the meeting.
"Their best thing would be to endure the public and communicate with the public," he said of the commission in a phone call.
In a recent commission meeting, Ware said after the commission had a dialogue with a member of the public, the issue was settled. The commission could avoid a lot of ongoing "heat" from the public if commission members would be more receptive and communicative, he said.
Even if a member of the public has a one-on-one discussion about concerns with a commissioner before the meeting, Ware said being able to comment on a topic at the meeting before it's voted on could give another perspective to the other commission members too.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.