By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com

The Lee County Board of Commissioners will switch nearly half of its regularly scheduled meetings for 2026 into a work session format that doesn’t allow for public comment and won’t be available for remote viewing.

Lee County Government issued a press release Thursday announcing that the board has updated its schedule “to now incorporate monthly work sessions.”

The new schedule calls for one regular meeting and one work session each month (other than in July, August, and September) “to address items that may require more extensive information and discussion between regular meetings” and two regular meetings in December, when work sessions aren’t scheduled. The previous schedule had two regular business meetings each month, except during the summer months and in the holiday season.

The release states that work sessions “will not follow the Board’s traditional agenda format and therefore will not include a public comment section” and that “work sessions are not filmed and therefore will not be available via live broadcast or on demand; however, the public is welcome to attend work session meetings in person to hear discussion.” The board typically doesn’t take action during work sessions, but is not precluded from doing so.

The commissioners discussed changes to the schedule at a board retreat in January, and according to a document included in the agenda packet for Monday’s meeting, the change was made to “allow for more time between meetings for the Commissioners and staff to discuss items.”

Public comment is typically a portion of a regular meeting of local government bodies in which anyone may sign up to speak before the board about any issue of their choosing for three minutes. In recent months, several groups have addressed Lee County’s board about their desire for a moratorium on fracking and data centers to power artificial intelligence operations, as well as about the county’s EMS franchise.

“Any member of the public wishing to provide comments to the Commissioners can do so at any regular business meeting, or individuals may contact the Board directly through the contact information listed on their roster at www.leecountync.gov,” Thursday’s press release reads.

Work sessions for the commissioners aren’t new, but have rarely been regularly scheduled other than during the county’s budget process. In the past, they’ve been called when the commissioners or staff felt a particular item needed further discussion than a regular meeting would allow. Work sessions have never included public comment or been filmed and broadcast.

The meeting schedule for the remainder of 2026 is as follows:

Monday, March 2 at 6 p.m.: Work Session at McSwain Center
Monday, March 16 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at McSwain Center
Monday, April 6 at 6 p.m.: Work Session at McSwain Center
Monday, April 20 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, May 4 at 6 p.m.: Work Session at McSwain Center
Monday, May 18 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, June 1 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at McSwain Center
Monday, June 15 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, July 13 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, August 17 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, October 5 at 6 p.m.: Work Session at McSwain Center
Monday, October 19 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, November 2 at 6 p.m.: Work Session at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, November 16 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center
Monday, December 7 at 12 p.m.: Regular Meeting at McSwain Center
Monday, December 21 at 6 p.m.: Regular Meeting at Dennis Wicker Civic Center