Commissioner FAQ:
How Can I See or Talk to the Perry County Board of Commissioners?

The Perry County Board of Commissioners meets every Wednesday. The meetings start at 9:00 am with some weekly paperwork as part of continuous operation and the business of running the County.

Appointments for people to come in and address the Board “on the record” begin at 9:30 am each Wednesday and continue until finished, so the time of adjournment varies from week to week.

Each week’s meeting agenda is finalized by noon Tuesday. So, for example, a person could not contact the office at 4:00 pm Tuesday and expect to get on the next day’s agenda. They would simply have to wait until the next week.

Anyone requesting time on the agenda to address the board on record must identify the subject they will address.

Agenda topics do have restrictions. We do not entertain people or topics on the agenda that the Board of Commissioners has no authority over. For example, addressing the board with a request to change the minimum wage for businesses throughout Perry County would not meet the topic requirement because the Board has no authority in that matter.

However, we do have a Public Comment opportunity for citizens.

In my first year as a Commissioner and with the consensus of then-Commissioners O’Brien and Fereks we implemented the monthly Public Comment opportunity. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for the public to address the board on absolutely any topic of their choice.

Public comments are heard the third Wednesday of each month at 8:30 am for 30 minutes. Most months we do not have anyone in to address the board. However, we have had some very interesting conversations during the public comment period.

Please note: Public Comment sessions occur prior to the official business meeting of the Commissioners and so are not part of the official meeting, the board is not “in session” during the public comment period, there are no recordings and minutes are not taken. No Board decisions are made during the Public Comment period.

Anyone wishing to address the board during the Public Comment period, simply can show up at the Commissioner’s office at 8:30 on the third Wednesday. No appointment is necessary.

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Ben Carpenter

By Ben Carpenter

Ben Carpenter has served as one of three Perry County Ohio Commissioners since 2016. A former director of Perry County's Soil & Water District, Ben champions responsible use of county funds and land. He and his wife Katrina live on Ben's original family farm just outside Somerset, Ohio where they raise grass-fed Black Angus and Longhorn cattle.