One meeting a month? Tarrant County commissioners consider schedule change
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court is set to consider Tuesday cutting its open meetings by half starting in October.
The agenda for the meeting includes a court order that, if approved, would change the frequency of commissioners court sessions, trimming most months back to a single meeting on the second Tuesday of the month.
The court currently meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 10 a.m. on the fifth floor of the Tarrant County Administration Building located at 100 E. Weatherford Street in downtown Fort Worth.
The order includes an exception for December, when the session would be on the third Tuesday of that month, and for August and September 2026, which would see meetings on the first and third Tuesdays.
The order cites the Texas Local Government Code, which requires commissioners courts at the end of the fiscal year to pick a day of the week to convene in the coming fiscal year, but does not specify meeting frequency. It appears to allow commissioners courts to determine their meeting frequency based on the need for governmental services.
“If the completion of the court’s business does not require a monthly term, the court need not hold more than one term a quarter,” the law states.
The change would take effect on Oct. 1, putting the first meeting under the new schedule on Oct. 13.
The item is posted in the section of the agenda for the county administrator. None of the documentation for the item available on the county’s website offers reasons for the change.
County Administrator Chandler Merritt and others on his staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons told the Star-Telegram she received the proposed court order from a staffer in Merritt’s office less than a week before it was posted on the agenda. She did not respond to a request for comment.
Tracey Knight, chief of staff for Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez, said his office had not yet discussed the proposal.
“I anticipate that the court will talk about it” tomorrow, she said in a text message.
County Judge Tim O’Hare, Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles and Precinct 3 Commissioner Matt Krause did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 1:24 PM.
