Hamilton County Commission keeps meeting time at 4 p.m. for extended trial period

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The new meeting time of the Hamilton County Commission of 4 p.m. will remain in place for now.

This is after a lengthy committee meeting where other options were discussed.

This included moving meeting times to 5 p.m. either weekly or biweekly.

The original change of the meeting time was pushed forward by a group of residents concerned about citizen access to meetings.

The evening costs the county a little over $1,600 to pay staff overtime per meeting, or about $50,000 for a full year’s worth of 48 meetings.

The commissioners came to a consensus that they haven’t given the trial period of evening meetings long enough to make an informed decision, especially given the timing, as stated attendance numbers have not drastically changed with the new meeting time.

Commissioner Dr. Steve Highlander said, “(The trial of the new time) has been affected by a different holiday schedule that people had. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and whatever else. If we try (another trial) right now it wouldn’t be affected.”

The commissioners will revisit this topic in March where they hope to make a permanent decision on the meeting time.