Schuylkill County Commissioners are headed to prime time.
And there’s one thing you can bet on if you virtually attend their regular board meeting tonight at 6. You won’t be able to hear a damn thing they’re saying.
Despite the tens of thousands of dollars the Commissioners agree to spend on technology, the one thing they can’t seem to find are enough microphones to hold a proper Zoom call.
Since no one’s allowed in the board room for these virtual meetings in the annoyingly-named “COVID era”, we’re assuming that everyone in the Commissioners board room is talking toward one mic in the room.
You’ll only be able to hear one voice clearly. Everyone else sounds like they’re at varying distances from the microphone. That’s because they are.
Schuylkill County Commissioners After Dark – The Rare Prime Time Meeting
It’s rare that you’ll get a chance to attend or hear a Schuylkill County Commissioners meeting. They typically meet at 10 a.m. on Wednedays. That’s not exactly an ideal time for a concerned taxpayer to participate in what’s supposed to be a participatory government.
And with all the shenanigans at Schuylkill County Courthouse lately (and always, it seems), it seems this is one particular government body which should be drawing the biggest crowds.
For starters, it serves the most amount of people in Schuylkill County. Literally, everyone.
Strike that … it’s SUPPOSED to serve everyone. That’s debatable.
And of any local government board, it spends the most amount of money. And that’s a lot of your money.
But you hardly ever hear about it outside of weekly news reports. And by then, most times, the money’s already been spent.
In reality, the most activity many people do in regard to county government is vote.
Schuylkill County Commissioners Agenda – September 16, 2020
If you do decide to tune in for the meeting this evening, you’re going to need the following call-in instructions:
- Dial 1-301-715-8592
- Enter the Meeting ID No. 939 1742 8937
- Hit # (pound) to enter the meeting
If you’re new to the Commissioners meeting, it’s also important to note that these sessions aren’t exactly a free-for-all discussion. Everything is carefully scripted and rarely deviates from the written Agenda.
Technically, in this case, that’s a good thing because you’ll at least be able to decipher the garbled voices that are barely audible on that lone mic in the board room.
Now, if you want to let your voice be heard during Wednesday evening’s meeting, you have two opportunities to do so, near the beginning and end of the meeting.
During the first Public Comment session, you have to limit your comments to items on today’s Agenda. The session near the end is the free-wheeling part where we’ve heard so many accusations against Commissioner George Halcovage and also sharp criticism over several recent County developments, including reckless CARES Act spending that ignores small businesses and a planned purchase of the former GIANT grocery store in Pottsville.
Here’s today’s full agenda:
[pdf-embedder url=”https://coalregioncanary.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AGENDA-WORK-SESSION-9-16-20.pdf” title=”AGENDA WORK SESSION 9-16-20″]
ALSO READ:
- Schuylkill County CARES Act Spending – $2.8 Million So Far and Nothing to Show for It
- Casey Demands Investigation Into Alleged Halcovage Parking Lot Incident at Schuylkill Courthouse
- Schuylkill County Commissioner Called Commentator, Threatened to Silence Public Comments
- Proposed Schuylkill Prison HVAC System Meant to Mitigate COVID Spread
- Pottsville Councilman Demands Schuylkill Commissioners Pay Up
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