In an effort to save money, Forsyth County’s planning board is considering a few changes in how it conducts business.

Tom Brown, planning director, presented the board with some possible cost-cutting measures during a work session Tuesday night.

One possibility would be to move up the monthly meeting time. The sessions currently begin at 6:30 p.m.

Brown explained that seven to eight staff members are required to attend each meeting.

He said an earlier start could cut back on how much extra time the county employees are paid for being there.

Work sessions, which require the presence of fewer staff members, would continue to be held monthly at 6:30 p.m.

The board also talked about whether legal staff should attend the meetings or if officials should first go to Brown regarding legal questions about matters before them.

"I could tell you the last six months have increased from the standpoint of [legal staff] attending our meetings," Brown said.

In addition, board members talked about cutting back on printing costs by keeping a three-ring binder of information regarding requests.

The binders would give them the option of saving information from requests in previous months that may have been postponed so the documents would not have to be reprinted.

Documents pertaining to requests the board has taken action on could be discarded and information about new requests could be added.

Each member currently receives a new "book" every month that contains documents on matters to be taken up during the meeting, regardless of whether they’ve come before the board.

Brown said he would check to see if the potential changes really would save the county money and draft an outline for further consideration next month.

The board also discussed with County Attorney Ken Jarrard measures to streamline its bylaws by removing items already covered by the Open Meetings or Zoning Procedures acts.