Commissioners—

I am forwarding excerpts from our Rules Manual, with highlights, in response to two separate questions concerning:

  1. Who has the authority to call a Special Meeting of the Haywood County Commission?
  2. What are the agenda requirements for the Industrial Development Board (IDB)?

Thanks,

Sharon Hayes

4H.      Called Meetings – Agenda & Notices – TCA § 5-5-105

  1. Authority to Call.Special meetings of the Commission may be called by the County Mayor. The Chair of the Commission may also call a special meeting upon receipt of an application in writing by a majority of the Commission.
  2. Notice to Commissioners.It is the duty of the Clerk or Chair to notify each member of the Commission of any special or called meetings not less than five (5) days in advance. This notice is intended to inform commissioners and is in addition to the public notice required by the Open Meetings Law.
  3. Public Notice.Notice of a special called meeting shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation and posted on the Haywood County website.
  4. d)Agenda Limitation.The official call for the special meeting must specify the purpose(s) of the meeting, and no business other than that specified may be transacted.

4C.      Public Accessibility of Agenda – Withholding Items Prohibited – Posting on Website. TCA 8-44-110

  1. a)At least forty-eight (48) hoursprior to a regular meeting, a local governmental body (Section e) shall make available to the public, at no charge, the agenda for the upcoming regular meeting in a place accessible to the public. The agenda must reasonably describe the matters to be deliberated or acted upon during the public meeting.
  2. b)A local governmental body may deliberate or act upon matters not listed on the agenda of its regular meeting if the body follows its bylaws or properly adopted rules and procedures and complies with all applicable state laws.
  3. c)A local governmental body shall not circumvent the spirit or requirements of this section by withholding items from an agenda for the purpose of avoiding public disclosure of business to be considered by the legislative body.
  4. d)A local government legislative body that maintains a website shall make an agenda available to the public through the website.The website is considered a place that is accessible to the public for purposes of compliance with subsection (a).
  5. e)The local governmental bodyunder this statute includes the:
  6. County Legislative Body
  7. Regional Planning Commission
  8. Board of Zoning Appeals
  9. Haywood Public Utility Board
  10. Industrial Development Board
  11. Housing authority
  12. County Election Commission
  13. Budget Committee of the county legislative body