ELIZABETH CITY — Pasquotank County commissioners are expected Monday to take up a proposal to record and stream their meetings online, and to get their first look at a written public comment policy that would bar speakers from yielding their time to someone else.

Two Pasquotank County residents who have followed both issues, Katie Canning and Brittany White, said they welcome the streaming proposal but have concerns about the public comment draft.

Both items are on a busy agenda at the courthouse. The Finance Committee meets at 4 p.m., the Appointments Committee follows, and the full board convenes at 6 p.m., all in the Commissioners Boardroom.

Video Streaming

Let’s start with video streaming — a lot of places do that, and it is VERY helpful.

County Manager Sparty Hammett will present the item to the Finance Committee, where staff recommends that the county stream and record Board of Commissioners meetings and post the videos online.

Staff checked with neighboring cities and counties and found that most stream their city council and commissioner meetings. If the board approves, the county will request proposals from streaming vendors and bring a proposal and a budget amendment back to commissioners, using contingency funds. The goal is to begin streaming no later than the first meeting of 2027, which the board’s proposed 2027 calendar puts on Jan. 11.

The agenda does not list a cost estimate.

Commissioner Sean Lavin said he supports the change.

“I support video recording the meetings for both accuracy of the records and minutes and for the transparency and access to the meetings that it provides,” Lavin said.

The idea is not new, he said. The county recorded meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, but stopped when in-person meetings resumed.

Lavin said earlier opposition has centered on money, but he doesn’t believe that’s the whole story.

“Prior board members have cited costs in their protests, but I’ve heard the whispers and grumbling that let me know that the transparency is exactly what they are afraid of,” Lavin said. He did not name anyone.

Lavin said he expects discussion and votes at both the Finance Committee meeting and the regular session. He said he expects the proposal to pass.

“I suspect with us being this close to elections, we’ll get this pushed through,” he said.

Canning, a Pasquotank County resident who has asked the county to stream meetings, said she is “very happy to see the county moving forward.” She said Commissioner Clifford Shaw, who represents her district, told her he supported the idea and agreed that transparency is important. She also thanked Lavin, county staff and the other commissioners for being receptive.

Canning said she understands the change can’t happen overnight, given budgets, equipment and proposals to work through, and called a January start “a very reasonable timeline.”

“Our goal has never been to be a negative force toward the county,” she said. She said recorded meetings can help residents understand why certain decisions are made and why some requests can or cannot be approved, and would let people who can’t attend, including residents and journalists, stay informed. Until the county’s system is in place, she said, she and others plan to keep privately livestreaming meetings when they can attend.

Public comment rules

The regular meeting agenda includes a draft Pasquotank County Public Comment Policy, which the board will discuss Monday but not vote on. Staff will bring it back for approval at the board’s Oct. 19 meeting.

The policy grew out of a commissioner’s request to discuss a rule allowing speakers to yield time to one another, up to a maximum of six minutes. Staff was already working on a policy, according to the agenda, and found that most jurisdictions don’t allow time to be yielded to another speaker. Staff wrote that the board’s current practice of three minutes per speaker “provides a fair and consistent means” of taking public input.

The draft keeps that limit. Each speaker would get three minutes, and no time could be yielded. Comments would have to relate to matters within the board’s duties, policies or jurisdiction, and the rule would be enforced “in a viewpoint-neutral manner.”

Speakers would sign up on a form at the door before the meeting starts and be called in the order they signed up. They would address the board from the podium and state their names.

The draft also covers larger groups. At the board’s request, groups of eight or more people who support or oppose the same position could be asked to choose a spokesperson, who could be given up to eight minutes. If a group declines, each member who signed up individually keeps the right to speak for up to three minutes.

Other provisions:

• Public comment would be part of all regular board meetings but not Finance Committee meetings, special meetings or work sessions, unless the board decides otherwise.
• People with speech disabilities could submit a written statement to be read aloud by the clerk within the three-minute limit.
• Commissioners would not be required to answer questions on the spot, and speakers should expect the board to hold off on dialogue except to clarify a speaker’s position. The board could refer issues to the county manager or staff.
• Speakers could not disrupt the meeting with boisterous behavior or physical interruptions.

White, a resident of Pasquotank County, said the draft falls short.

White said she asked the county to review Elizabeth City’s policy because it allows citizens to voluntarily yield time while still maintaining limits and order. “Instead, the proposal holds firm to the three-minute limit, prohibits citizens from voluntarily sharing their time, and could actually group eight or more citizens into a single spokesperson,” she said.

She said that doesn’t make participation easier and could mean hearing from fewer people. “Eight citizens may agree on an issue but have eight completely different reasons, experiences, or concerns that commissioners should hear individually,” she said. White said she supports reasonable limits and understands the need to prevent abuse and keep meetings orderly.

“Government efficiency should not be measured by how quickly it gets through public comment or how many citizens it can consolidate into one voice,” White said.

Canning said she asked the county to allow one registered speaker to yield three minutes to another, with an absolute maximum of six minutes, as Elizabeth City’s written rules allow. If the county doesn’t want that model, she suggested a compromise used in Gates County, which allows five minutes for comments tied to agenda items and three minutes for all others. Agenda items can involve budgets, ordinances and development, she said, and “sometimes genuinely take longer than three minutes to address.”

Canning said her biggest concern is the proposed process for disability accommodations, such as extra speaking time. She said the process as proposed would leave decisions to the county manager alone, with advance notice required and supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s letter, possibly needed. Canning said the policy should instead have the manager and the county’s ADA Coordinator review requests together. She noted that Pasquotank County already names its Human Resources Director to that role.

She also asked the county to drop any rigid deadline. Residents should be encouraged to ask ahead when they can, she said, but “disabilities and circumstances do not always fit neatly into a deadline.” Late or same-day requests should still be considered, she said, and any supporting information should be limited to what is reasonably necessary and kept private. “A person’s diagnosis or medical history should never have to be announced at the podium,” she said.

“This is not about asking for unlimited speaking time or trying to disrupt meetings,” Canning said. She said she hopes commissioners will consider the alternatives before adopting a final policy, because “there is room for a compromise.”

Road projects open for public input

Also on the regular agenda, under public comments and hearings, is a ranking of eight transportation projects requested by the Albemarle Rural Planning Organization. Planning Director Shelley Cox will give an overview, and the agenda says public input will be allowed.

The ranking will determine how local input points are allocated toward Division-level funding under the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Prioritization 8.0 formula. In a Sept. 29 memo, Cox wrote that none of the six highway projects the board ranked in August scored high enough for regional funding, so they rolled down to the Division list. About $188 million is available at that level, and many of the projects cost more.

Staff recommends this order:

1. Converting the US-17 and US-158 intersection at Morgans Corner to an interchange. Cox wrote that the intersection has a history of high accident rates and several fatalities.
2. A multi-use path and crosswalks connecting River Road Middle School and nearby subdivisions.
3. Corporate storage and box hangars at Elizabeth City Regional Airport.
4. Grade crossing improvements at Parsonage Street in Elizabeth City.
5. Upgrading US-17 to interstate standards from Elizabeth City to the Virginia line ($315.1 million).
6. Upgrading US-17 to interstate standards between Edenton and Elizabeth City ($460.8 million).
7. Widening US-158 to a four-lane divided expressway (more than $1 billion).
8. Rail improvements for passenger service between Edenton and Moyock ($470.8 million).

Cox noted that projects five through eight exceed the available funding.

Finance Committee items

The Finance Committee has a long list before it reaches the full board. Utilities Director David Smithson will ask for approval to hire American Engineering Associates for $86,230 to study the best location and size for a new elevated water storage tank near Halstead Boulevard and the US-17 Bypass. The Utilities Committee has already recommended it. The company’s proposal says the tank would increase water pressure and quality in the developing area, and the work includes a report for state review. The company’s schedule includes a deadline of December 2028 for tank construction.

Other items include:

• Budget amendments totaling $409,762, among them $350,000 in fund balance for fire suppression improvements for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, and $37,550 moved from unfilled salaries to cleaning contracts in Buildings and Grounds.
• A right-of-way agreement with Dominion Energy for a 15-foot underground electric easement at Newland Park to serve the new maintenance building.
• An interlocal agreement with Elizabeth City on the ABC Board’s jointly appointed seat, vacant for several years, which would alternate every two years between a commissioner and a city council member or mayor.
• A proposal to double the county’s administrative fee for the Tourism Development Authority from 1.5% to 3% on the first $500,000 collected, which staff said would raise it from an average of $12,500 a year to about $20,000.
• Updates from Register of Deeds Penny Newbern and from Brian Wolf of RRMM Architects on the new EMS headquarters.

Hammett is also presenting the ABC Board agreement and the TDA fee increase.

Consent agenda and new business

The full board’s consent agenda includes the Sept. 14 minutes, tax releases and refunds, and approval of a state records retention schedule for the Register of Deeds office. Under new business, new Litter Prevention Coordinator Christian Jones, hired Sept. 1, will report on his first weeks, and the board will consider the 2027 meeting schedule.