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The Blount County Commission voted 17-4 Thursday to send a proposal to limit citizen input during its monthly meetings to a new committee for study.

Before the action, commissioners had been set to decide whether to require citizens to appear before the Public Service or Intergovernmental Committees to discuss items not on the official agenda.

The proposal, by Commissioners Steve Hargis and Holden Lail, has proven controversial. Concerned citizens turned out in force at the meeting, one group holding a protest on the courthouse steps.

Charles Clifford, a local attorney, encouraged the commission not to make the change.

"You have a sacred duty to let the people be heard," he said. "The heart and soul of our democracy is the voice of the people.

"You will do more damage ... than you will recoup in efficiency by saving a few moments each month."

Lloyd Lawson, who serves on the Rockford Planning Commission, reminded the commission members of their duty to serve the public.

"It's what we do," he said. "This well-intentioned plan will cause the people to be shoveled into a bureaucratic maze where nothing productive gets done."

Commissioner Mike Walker, made the motion to send the proposed rules changes to the new committee, after receiving permission to suspend the normal agenda procedure.

Walker is also proposing that future rule changes would require a two-thirds majority, 14 votes, to pass.

Only Commissioners Steve Hargis, Joe McCulley, Monika Murrell and Wendy Pitts Reeves voted against sending the matter to the committee.

Murrell and Reeves both expressed concern that the motion had not been recommended through the committee process.

Hargis voted against the move out of conviction, saying the proposed rule change would allow the commission to take faster action on citizen concerns.

"I thought (the change) was a win situation for the people who come up here," he said. "I still believe it."

The County Commission cannot act on issues brought before it that are not on the agenda. The proposed change would allow the committees to place issues on the agenda for the current month's meeting.

Lail, however, sided with the rest of the commissioners, describing the move as "a wonderful exercise in the democratic process that I would heartily endorse."

Steve Samples is one of the commissioners tapped to serve on the new committee. He said it needs to look at all the rules.

"I'm hoping this committee will come back with package that is acceptable to all the commissioners and the public," he said.

Samples said there should be a way to improve the process but still allow citizens the chance for input.

"I believe the people are the ones who sent me here," he said. "I'm going to listen to them."

Training track

In other business, the County Commission voted 14-7 to allow Sheriff James Berrong to spend $250,000 from the Drug Fund to construct a driving track at his department's training facility.

Commissioners David Ballard Jr., David Graham, Joe McCulley, Murrell, Bob Proffitt and Reeves voted against the expenditure.

"I have a problem with this because we have a School Resource Officer program that is not fully staffed," Graham said. "I can't vote for this."

Berrong said the County Commission knew about his department's budget challenges in previous fiscal years.

"You saw the SRO program was going to die," he said.

Drug Fund revenues comes from money and property confiscated from people convicted of drug crimes. Federal law dictates that the Sheriff's Office cannot use the funds for ongoing expenses.