Sumner County’s opioid response committee spent much of its meeting debating proposed changes to the committee’s bylaws, including a plan to expand membership and increase county commissioner oversight.

Speaker 3, who identified himself in the record as Troy but spoke to the committee as a member during the discussion, said he opposed a five-member board and argued for a larger, more representative panel. “I’m opposed to 5. I think it needs to be 7 members,” Speaker 3 said, adding that he wanted more elected commissioners involved and fewer “unelected bureaucrats.”

Proponents argued that adding commissioners would improve financial oversight of settlement funds. Opponents and several participants pushed back, saying citizen members have historically been more consistent in attendance than commissioners and that reducing membership could hurt continuity. Speaker 4 noted that four county commissioners had resigned from the board in recent years, a point offered as evidence that citizens sometimes provide more reliable service.

Under the draft language discussed at the meeting, committee membership would include four county commissioners and three citizen seats — described in the draft as a recovery-community representative, a medical professional, and a resident of the county. Speakers clarified that the mayor and sheriff had been removed from the draft and that terms would be staggered when the committee moves from ad hoc to a standing committee in September 2026.

Committee members also debated attendance and removal rules. Speaker 3 moved to change the draft to say that a member missing two consecutive regular meetings “may be recommended for removal by majority vote,” replacing a three-consecutive-meeting standard. Supporters said the change aligned with the committee’s meeting cadence (every other month); opponents questioned whether the threshold was too low.

No final county commission adoption occurred at the meeting. Speaker 2 explained the next procedural steps: if the committee adopts the bylaws with changes, the item will go to the county budget committee for review and possible edits and then to the full county commission for final adoption or further change.

The committee did not record a roll-call vote on the bylaw changes at this session; the motion to expand membership was introduced and seconded during discussion. The budget committee’s review and the full commission’s calendar will determine any final change.