Clay County Expands Public Access to Commission Meetings

At the Thursday meeting of the Clay County Commission, discussion will be held to consider 2021-ORD-01, making meetings more open to citizens.

This is the beginning of a new chapter in Clay County government which citizens have consistently demanded - Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte

Under provisions of 2021-ORD-01, there will be four meetings of the commission per month instead of only two. There will be evening meetings scheduled in addition to daytime meetings, so more citizens can participate. The proposed ordinance clarifies the permanent inclusion of citizen comments on non-agenda items, as well as comments from commissioners and others. Citizens are now free to comment on agenda items, as they are taken up. In addition, we would have work and business sessions to give citizens more time to express their opinions before a final vote of the commission.

Citizens can once again attend commission meetings in person within the COVID-19 Health Department restrictions, which includes social distancing and facemasks. County Commission meetings are now being live streamed (https://claycountymo.gov/) and archived for citizen review at https://www.youtube.com/.../UC5FqG0UTFn3x4ociZoXEJyA/videos.

Presiding Commissioner Jerry Notle stated, “I am happy to report to the citizens this is the beginning of a new chapter in Clay County government which citizens have consistently demanded. I will continue to keep you informed as we move forward.”

KPGZ News – Jim Dickerson Contributed to this Story