Commission alters format of meetings

LARGO - City commission meetings will start earlier and follow a new format to make it easier for citizens to speak at public hearings.

Starting at the next regular meeting May 6, meetings will begin at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. But the public hearing portion of the meeting will begin promptly at 7 p.m. so residents who want to comment know what time to arrive. The way meetings run now, it is difficult to know when a particular subject might come up.

"This eliminates the guesswork," Mayor Bob Jackson said.

In the new format, the commission will deal with approval of minutes, ceremonial items, citizen comment not related to agenda items, the consent docket and legislative matters.

But no matter where they are in the sequence, commissioners will stop at 7 p.m. to hold public hearings and continue the rest of their business when the hearings are finished. The change makes it easier for business people to schedule attorneys and staff for presentations, Jackson said.

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