Agenda - 10-03-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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3 1 Of course, if we determine during the course of the year that we need to add a meeting 2 back, we always have the option to do so. 3 4 5 END OF EMAIL 6 7 Chair Dorosin said there are two versions of the proposed 2018 Board of County 8 Commissioners (BOCC) meeting calendar at the Commissioners' places. He said the Board 9 has been discussing the option of reducing the number of meetings. He said the BOCC 10 currently meets 48 times per year. He said the number would reduce by 25%, if all proposed 11 changes are accepted, to 37 meetings. He said the meetings that are prosed for removal 12 include: quarterly public hearings (QPH); Fire Department meetings; Legislative Delegation 13 Breakfast meeting; meetings with Towns, Schools, etc. 14 Commissioner Price asked if these meetings would be made up in any way, or rolled 15 into other meetings. 16 Chair Dorosin reviewed the changes he suggested in his email from May 2nd. He said a 17 meeting can always be added to a calendar, if needed. 18 Commissioner Burroughs asked if the Board can be more disciplined, and keep 19 conversation at the policy level, as opposed to micro managing. 20 Commissioner Burroughs said she asked Steve Brantley, Economic Development 21 Director, if he could identify the percentage of the community that is self-employed, and he told 22 her 7%. She said more than half of the Commission is self-employed. She said the more 23 meetings that occur; the more difficult it is to have a broad range of people on the Board. She 24 said if the number of meetings is not going to be reduced, then the pay must be increased in 25 order to attract a more diverse pool of Commissioners. 26 Commissioner Price said the Legislative Breakfast is still on both proposed calendars as 27 a separate meeting in March. She asked if this would be put with another meeting. 28 Chair Dorosin said it is the pleasure of the Board, and his only consideration is that it 29 would not be a separate meeting. 30 Commissioner Price said she agreed about the QPH and meeting with the Towns, but 31 she is hesitant to do staff evaluations after meetings as that seems unfair to staff. She said 32 some meetings run very long. 33 Chair Dorosin said the goal would be have evaluations after very short meetings. He 34 agreed with Commissioner Burroughs that there would need to be a level of discipline. 35 Commissioner Jacobs said he is receptive to change, but he does not think a more 36 public Legislative Breakfast will be productive. 37 Commissioner Jacobs said the Board is not taking advantage of meetings that start at 38 dinnertime, and he does not want to give up time in work sessions to meetings with other 39 boards. He said work sessions are the most flexible space, and allow for in depth conversation. 40 He said if meetings are going to be combined into work sessions, then the work sessions 41 should begin earlier. 42 Commissioner Jacobs said the Board has a policy of automatic adjournment at 10:30 43 p.m., which has been ignored for years; and if one Commissioner declines to extend a meeting, 44 it is supposed to end. He said the addition of a QPH to a regular meeting runs the risk of a very 45 long meeting. He said he wants to be sensitive to staff being able to leave. 46 Commissioner Jacobs said he would prefer to stick with a 10:30 p.m. end time at 47 meetings. 48 Commissioner Rich said moving QPH to regular meetings could work, but agrees that 49 the agenda review would have to attempt to schedule items with timeliness in mind whenever