Once again, I ran out of a local government meeting. I just can’t justify these four-hour dinner breaks when I have seven pages of work to research and write under a deadline.

My main beef was the Buncombe County Commissioners hadn’t said anything value-additive in an hour. Under consideration were changes to the county’s animal ordinance that would require “keepers” to provide animals adequate exercise and socialization. Mike Fryar was the only guy making sense, asking if the county was going to station a deputy over suspect animals to make sure they were exercised.

For about an hour, the commissioners took turns posturing politically, telling all in the chambers and on TV how much they love animals. I’d heard it already by about the third time. The reporter sitting in the same row as I was flipping his pen as fast as I was. I don’t know about him, but it’s a nervous habit of mine that says, “Can this please be over already?” Interspersed between the animal love-in comments were words of meetings about meetings. Personally, I prefer Roberts Rules of Order to this business of having multiple motions and amendments on the floor at the same time. Other comments had a twinge of that political strategy where emotional tones appear directed toward incriminating the other guys, and any random words will do.

In the end, the resolution that passed was sufficiently amended to warrant an announcement of a second reading for the commissioners’ next meeting, but the vote will likely be postponed, since the next meeting will be a special all-day informational event on capital projects.