Lee County will consider going to bi-weekly meetings of commissioners, after decades of having meetings every week. Some call it stream-lining government; others worry about loss of access to elected officials.
Commissioners are supposed to talk about the idea on Tuesday, June 12. If they make a change, it would take effect in August according to county staff.
“This will save us on productivity because right now, we have our top managers and department heads, sitting in the meetings every Tuesday morning, when they could be back in their offices, doing what they’re charged with doing. So there will be productivity savings,” said Commission Chairman John Manning. He is sponsoring the attempt to go bi-weekly, after learning that many counties of Lee’s size, meet every two weeks.
“I worry about cutting off public access to get up and talk with us directly, as people can do in a formal meeting,” said Commissioner Frank Mann.
Manning says people can comment on agenda items, online, on the county’s website.
“We have lots of ways to hear from the people. This is a visible job, I have people talking to me all the time about issues. In fact, the weekly meetings limit me from getting out more and talking with various groups. I get a lot of invites to talk to groups on Tuesdays, but I turn them down because every Tuesday is meeting day,” said Manning.
June 12 Agenda
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