Franklin County Commissioner Calls For More Community Involvement

 By MJ Kneiser/WLHR

Franklin County Commissioner Josh Smith says he will not back down from comments he made to WLHR News and the local paper regarding the need for a more diverse group of citizens to attend Commission meetings and work sessions.

Smith tells WLHR News that since his comments were published in the paper, he has received calls and texts from citizens who were angered by what he said.

Speaking Sunday on WNEG sister station WLHR’s Community Forum, Smith said the Board typically hears from the same group of people at their meetings and he would also like to have other citizen input.

 

Smith said while he’s grateful for those citizens who do come to the Commission meetings and applauds them for the research and homework they do, he worries the rest of the County citizenry may feel like their opinions are being excluded.

Smith said he believes more diverse citizen input could lead to more new ideas and solutions to the issues the county is facing such as how to attract more clean industry and develop residential areas without sacrificing the County’s place as an agricultural leader in the state.

This week the Board of Commissioners will meet for their monthly work session but the work session has been moved to this Thursday evening at 6p and it is open to the public.

The work session takes place at the Franklin County Justice Center in Carnesville and will also be available on Zoom.