County Board to Try Out Later Meeting Times From April to October

Muskegon County’s board of commissioners approved a change to its meeting times on Tuesday on a trial basis.

Starting April 1, 2013, all committee and full board meetings starting at 4:00 p.m. instead of the current 3:30 p.m. start for a seven-month trial period ending on Halloween of this year.

The motion from the Human Resources committee included a provision for staff to report on the financial impact in November, after the time change reverts to 3:30 p.m. on October 31. The report will be presented at the November 5 human resources committee meeting.

The idea to change meeting times came back to life during the board’s organizational meeting at the start of January, after discussions died in previous years.  Commissioner Ben Cross indicated his constituents could not always attend meetings in the middle of the afternoon.

Full board discussions later in January pondered what the financial impact may be if county clerk, security and other hourly staff had to work extra hours due to the later start time.  The board opted at the time to send the discussion to its human resources committee before bringing it back to the full board for a final vote.

County board meetings are held on the fourth floor of the Michael E. Kobza Hall of Justice in downtown Muskegon and are open to the public except for limited closed sessions where legal matters are discussed.