Last night’s Greenville County Council meeting made me think it might be a good idea to write about meeting agendas (here's the one from last night). Thrilling, I know. But understanding the meeting agendas is the first step to knowing when and how to speak up on topics that are important to you.

But first, let’s go over a couple of meeting highlights.

Wireless Cell Towers

While people got up to speak on a couple of different issues, the agenda item that brought out the most citizens by far was 11-F: Wireless Communications Facilities Ordinance. (It was about six people, which isn’t a lot considering the size of Greenville County, but it was more than spoke on other agenda items).

Basically, the ordinance sets out regulations for building cell towers in Greenville County. The ordinance itself is here and the specific regulations are here. Previously, Greenville County had no ordinance that “establishes uniform standards for the placement, construction, modification, and removal of wireless communication facilities.” This sets out those guidelines.

The guidelines include a minimum distance from homes and school, along with other details regarding construction of new cell towers and wireless facilities. Everyone who spoke at the meeting was in favor of the ordinance, although I think a few of them felt that the ordinance didn’t go far enough. The minimum distance from homes and schools is set at 500 ft, for example, and at least two speakers referenced other cities and counties setting that distance between 1000 and 3000 ft.

The ordinance passed its second reading. You might be thinking, “What does that even mean?” What a great way to transition into the second half of this update: meeting agendas.

Understanding the Meeting Agendas

Agendas are linked on the Greenville County Council calendar the week of a meeting, whether it’s the whole Council or a committee meeting. The name of the meeting is the link to the agenda, and the livestream link is included below the location for the meeting. Past agendas are linked in a side menu on the main Greenville County Council homepage.

Council agendas are broken up into different sections, and they tend to follow a similar pattern with items left off if there isn't anything for that section.

  1. Call to Order (starts the meeting)
  2. Invocation (prayer)
  3. Pledge of Allegiance
  4. Approval of Minutes (the notes from the last meeting)
  5. Proclamations and Recognitions (if there are any; last night council recognized local nonprofits for the work they do)
  6. Appearances - Current Agenda Items (this is one opportunity for people to speak about items on the agenda)
  7. Public Hearings (Another opportunity to speak up; some items before County Council must have public hearings to gather community input, and this is that)
  8. Consent Agenda (quick approval for items on the agenda that need to get a vote but aren’t expected to be controversial or require discussion)
  9. Resolutions (usually require a council discussion and vote)
  10. Ordinances - First Reading
  11. Ordinances - Second Reading
  12. Ordinances - Third Reading
  13. Committee Reports (where smaller committees share updates with the full council)
  14. Public Comments (this is the third chance to speak up; if your comments aren’t about a current agenda item or about something up for public hearing, this is where you speak)
  15. Administrator’s Report (I missed this part of the meeting, but I think it’s the County Administrator providing updates to the full council)
  16. Requests and Motions by Council Members (also missed this part, so I’m not sure what types of items Council members usually bring up)
  17. Adjournment (the meeting is over)

Wait, How Many Readings of What?

County Council has a set of rules that it has to follow when proposing and passing ordinances, which can be understood as rules or regulations for how the County runs and is governed. Ordinances generally get introduced during a first reading, which seems to be basically introducing the ordinance to the full council and the public. Last night, almost all of the ordinances on their first reading were passed over to the committees in charge of discussing and reviewing them.

Next will be the second reading. Last night, this is where that Wireless Communications Facilities Ordinance was in the agenda. This seems to be when items are most likely to receive public comment. The ordinance is discussed by the council and voted on. This is the stage where amendments, or changes, are likely to get proposed by the council. If it passes muster, with or without amendments, it usually ends up at a third reading.

The third reading is when an ordinance gets voted on for real, and it passes or fails to become a law or regulation.

What if I want to speak at a meeting?

While I haven’t spoken at a meeting yet, here’s what I’ve gathered about the process. First, you have to arrive between 5:15pm and 5:45pm (45 minutes before the meeting starts at 6:00pm) to register to speak. You can’t just show up whenever and get to speak. Your name and topic go on the record.

There are at least three opportunities on the agenda to speak.

  1. Near the start of the meeting, when the floor is opened to people speaking on current agenda items.
  2. During the public hearings, when there are specific topics that the council is asking for feedback on.
  3. At the end, during the public comments portion of the meeting. Comments here don’t have to related to agenda items or public hearings.

When it comes to the readings, the best time to speak up seems like it’s the second reading. That’s when the discussion and changes happen. If you are passionate about an issue, follow the smaller committees to get even earlier notice and information about what’s coming up before the full council.