With the new year comes the energy and opportunity for change in community engagement, public participation, and leadership and governance. My plan is to present suggestions for policy and practice modifications (improvements?) to Northumberland County elected and appointed leaders. Suggested changes are to the bylaws, adding content to the website, and improving public engagement.
You’re invited to join.
I’ll submit the final document to the parties Friday, December 5. If you are interested in participating in the creation of this set of recommendations and/or sign on to the letter to the supes, send your comments by December 1.
Bylaws
On January 8, 2026, the Northumberland County Board of Supervisors will hold its first meeting of the year. The agenda will include organizational elements such as electing the chair and vice chair, approving the bylaws, and approving the meeting sked.
Some version of the current bylaws (PDF) will be voted on at this meeting. I suggest the following changes be made.
Roll call voting become the standard in all policy and budget matters. As OnBoard writes, “A roll call vote is a unique voting method where each member’s vote is recorded individually and publicly. This method is typically used in legislative or formal meetings where transparency across the legislative body is critical. . . The approach ensures accountability while also providing an official record.” It is for this precise reason that roll call votes should be required for all policy and budget votes.
The current bylaws state
all questions submitted to the Board for decision shall be determined by a majority of the supervisors voting on a question by voice vote or by other method, which sufficiently identifies the matter upon which a vote is being taken. Individual votes of the Board members shall be recorded.
This provision should be replaced with
all questions submitted to the Board for decision shall be determined by a majority of the supervisors voting on a question by voice vote, roll call vote for policy and budget items, or by other method, which sufficiently identifies the matter upon which a vote is being taken. Individual votes of the Board members shall be recorded.
Is there a better way to make this modification? Email me.
Require meeting materials be made available on the county website. For some time now, agendas and supporting materials have been made available to the public online, in BoardDocs specifically.
The current bylaws requires the agenda available to the public in the CA’s office and newspaper (if possible). The bylaws make no mention of using electronic means to share. The public is best served if posting online is required and my recommended change toward this end is:
A detailed agenda shall be distributed in advance of each regular meeting to the members of the Board. This shall include the minutes, check register and correspondence/reports for reading and review in advance of the meeting in an effort to conserve time during the meeting. For examination by the pubic, a copy of the agenda shall be made available in the County Administrator’s office, delivered to the local newspaper for publication whenever possible, and on the county website.
Is there a better way to make this modification? Email me.
Create brochure (or one-pager) explaining how to participate in public comment periods. The current bylaws list rules of conduct to which members of the public must adhere. The issue at hand is that members of the public may not know about the rules. A brochure and page on the website would help educate the public and is something the supes can point to to explain the rules. My frame of reference, as many of you know, is local DC (as opposed to the federal part of the city). Ergo, my example is the brochure (PDF) created by the Council of the District of Columbia.
The Northumberland County brochure would include: The meeting schedule system (third Thursday of the month), the meeting location, link to the website, rules outlined in the bylaws, and viewing meetings and hearings online.
Are there other items that should be included in the brochure/one-pager? Should the creation of brochure/one-pager be included in the bylaws? I’ve got one foot and most of the other in the “no” camp. What do you think? Email me.
Making accessible current topics of interest
Each year, topics and ideas capture the extended interest of supervisors. In the past, these topics have include identifying property owned by the county, the viability volunteer rescue services in the future, the need for better/more (?) economic development, and the need for more housing, especially workforce housing. These should be identified on the website, in an easy-to-find location, such as a sub-page of the Board of Supervisors page as shown below.
At a minimum, the new page should contain the name of the supervisor who raises the issue or “takes responsibility” for investigating, researching, learning about, etc. and reporting back to the board; documents created in the process of investigating, researching, and learning about; supes’ meeting dates at which the topic was discussed, and a link to the vid (including timestamp); records for public hearings or meetings held on the topic; the applicable department/office; and communications from the public on the topic.
At the end of each year, the materials should be archived and the archive should be easy to find on the county website.
Any thoughts? Email me.
Supervisor bios
Bios and length of service should be added to the Board of Supervisors Members page. Each entry should include a picture, tenure on the board, and a bio based on some template that standardizes the information collected and the length of the bio.