Bluefield Daily Telegraph
— This newspaper has long questioned the practice of local boards and commissions who hold meetings that go late into the night.
Unfortunately, most governing bodies across southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia begin their meetings at 7:30 p.m. in the evening, and in many instances those meetings will then continue well into the night. There are some governing boards in our region — including the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors and the Tazewell County School Board — whose meetings will often last as late as 11 p.m., or longer.
When this is allowed to happen, public attendance and participation at the meetings will suffer. And you can’t blame the citizens. Would you really want to be at a governmental meeting at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. in the night if you didn’t have to? Most folks wouldn’t.
That’s why we welcome a good, common sense proposal being considered by the Bluefield Board of Directors.
The city board approved the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday that would change the starting time of regular board meetings from 7:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The resolution further states that upon the recommendation of City Manager Andy Merriman, the board finds that the current 7:30 p.m. starting time contributes to the lack of attendance and lack of constructive public input from citizens.
We couldn’t agree more. At 7:30 p.m. in the evening, a lot of people are ready to retire following a long day at work. Some are simply ready to sit down and watch their favorite television program or read a good book while others may be busy helping their children with homework or other duties at home. Having to leave your home at 7:30 p.m. in the night to attend a board meeting that could drag on well into the night simply isn’t an option for some families.
By starting the regular board meetings a good 90 minutes earlier, the board is opening the door to additional public attendance. It is our belief and our hope that the earlier starting time will encourage a few more citizens to come out and attend the regular city board meetings. After all, meaningful public input and participation from citizens is vital for any municipality, including the city of Bluefield.
It is important to note that the new starting time won’t take effect until the city board approves a second reading of the ordinance. We urge the board to quickly approve this ordinance.
We also strongly encourage other boards and commissions across our region to follow the good example set by the Bluefield Board of Directors and consider moving their meeting times back to earlier in the evening as well.
We applaud the Bluefield Board of Directors for taking steps to increase public attendance by holding their meetings at a more reasonable hour.
