County Commission changes requirements for notification, public comments

Here’s a roundup of actions the Madison County Commission took in their meeting on Tuesday in addition to rejecting the Jackson-Madison County Schools budget:

Madison soccer honored

Mayor A.J. Massey presented the soccer team from Madison Academic High School who finished the season undefeated and won the Class A championship at Spring Fling last month. The team received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Public meetings requirements

The Commission moved to adopt county statutes regarding prior notice and public comments in meetings.

Meeting notices for committees will continue to be published “in a reasonable amount of time” before a meeting. An agenda will be published on the county website at least 48 hours in advance of that meeting.

Minutes from public meetings will be posted on the website 48 hours after each meeting.

The County Commission is now required by law to allow a time for public comments from anyone not on the Commission. The Commission adopted similar guidelines to those of JMCSS Board meetings for allowing comments.

Comments are to be kept to no more than three minutes by each person for a maximum of 30 minutes. Anyone wishing to speak at a meeting must submit a request in writing 48 hours prior to a county commission meeting, and their topic must be connected to an agenda item.

Anyone wishing to speak at a committee meeting must let the chairman know before the meeting begins. Anyone wishing to do so can simply let the chairman know before the meeting starts.

Gatlin resignation acceptance

The Commission accepted Scott Gatlin’s resignation from the school board. Gatlin announced in a statement last week that he intends to try to get a job as the district’s head of security team.

Budget approval

While the commission didn’t accept the school board’s budget, they did accept the rest of the county’s budget was tentatively approved ahead of their meeting next week.