Putnam County schedules hearings, pares back proposed administration code changes after public comment

At its Jan. 20, 2026 meeting the Putnam County Board of Commissioners authorized staff to schedule a public hearing on proposed changes to the county code’s Chapter 2 (Administration) and approved several amendments to the draft language after public comment.

Multiple residents and stakeholders spoke during the agenda item, including Mr. Billy Webster, Ms. Jennifer Ray, Mr. Bill Vargo, Ms. Barb Vargo, Mr. Charles Ray, Ms. Erin Olson and Mr. Dale Bills. The board’s action removed the proposed change to Section 2-42(a) related to public comments, retained a change in Section 2-42(a) regarding the use of county equipment, removed the proposed striking of the word 'Recreation' in Sections 2-141 through 2-150, and removed proposed additions to Section 2-37 that would have limited a single commissioner to one item or limited commissioner comments to ten minutes without additional time from the chair.

The motions to amend and to schedule the hearing as amended were supported by Commissioners Tom McElhenney, Richard Garrett and Jeff Wooten; Commissioner Steve Hersey recorded a nay on one amendment and an abstention on the final as-recorded motion where noted in the minutes. The public comments and the recorded amendments reflect the board’s choice to preserve broader public-comment scope and to remove certain restrictive language from the proposed administration code.

By approving the hearing with these amendments, the board directed staff to post the revised proposal and set a hearing date so the public can review the amended language and testify before the board considers final adoption.