The Troup County Board of Commissioners is considering moving some of its meetings to the afternoon, allowing citizens who work an 8 to 5 job an opportunity to attend.

This is a topic we have written about several times, including most recently when representatives from the local branch of the NAACP and the Troup County Democratic Party approached the board in July. 

Although it’s not set in stone, the commission might start holding one work session and one meeting at 5 p.m. each month. All work session and meetings are currently held at 9 a.m.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the commission typically has two work sessions and two meetings each month. The meetings fall on the first and third Tuesday of every month and the work sessions are the Thursday prior to the meetings.

We think a change in the meeting times would be a good move, though we have doubts on how much the move will truly help community attendance. The truth is that people are busy, and unfortunately, that makes it difficult to attend a meeting at any time of the day. However, giving both morning and afternoon options can only help attendance. Unlike other local government bodies, the county covers 70,000 people and residents who live in rural areas, so it’s usually not a short drive to attend a commission meeting.

However, the county is also looking at a purchase that would give busy folks a way to stay involved as well. The commission appears to be moving forward with a plan to purchase software that would live stream commission meetings. With the software, the meetings could be viewed online during and after commission meetings.

Anything that makes the meetings more accessible for citizens is a good decision, and it’s clear the county commission is working to do that. If both of these decisions become a reality, we hope citizens will take advantage of them as ways to stay more involved in what the county is doing.