Good. While I wouldn’t expect to see a flood of people attending meetings, this certainly makes it more likely that working people can attend if they so choose.

For the second instance in 12 months, Washington County officials will modify the meeting time for County Board meetings from the morning to the evening with the hope increasing public participation.

Supervisors voted during their June 13 meeting to change the meeting time for the County Board of Supervisors meetings from 7:30 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the month to 6 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month. Supporters claim it would not only allow additional residents to attend the meetings, but also increase the applicant pool for elected office.

“The way I look at it is that we should afford our constituents every opportunity we can,” Supervisor Denis Kelling who spearheaded the effort to move the meeting time. “I mean I may not be a religious person, but I have the freedom to practice my religion. I may not own a gun but I have the freedom to carry a gun.”

Kelling spoke to address issues opponents mentioned, including that meeting times do not drive attendance and potential overlap with municipal gatherings.

“Selfishly I am going to vote against this,” Supervisor Jeffrey Schleif said because the time conflicts with another obligation. “As for being available for people, I think if the issue is something that is important for people, we do public notices, people come if they need to come so I discount the 6 p.m. a little bit.”