Want to make a difference in Salt Lake County? It helps if you don't have a life.

County Council meetings are open to the public — in theory. As far as fitting civic involvement in your schedule, you'll have better luck if you don't have to get yourself to work or your children to school between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Council members are considering changing their meeting schedule to accommodate residents who might have more pressing things to do during the day than attend county meetings. The County Council will discuss the time change during their morning work meeting today.

Meetings in the middle of the typical workday are the norm in Utah's three largest counties. Salt Lake County work meetings typically start at 10 a.m., with the public meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Utah and Davis county commissions meet at 9 and 10 a.m. Tuesdays.

Utah County commissioners try to encourage civic participation by holding one night meeting a month, but that idea has foundered. The meetings are often canceled due to lack of interest or agenda items, Utah County Commission Chairman Larry Ellertson said.

Day meetings work, and so far nobody has complained, he said.

"Many people aren't or can't be available in the day, but what we find is that those that have an issue find a way to get here," Ellertson said.

Morning meetings are the best time to bring the whole staff together to make important decisions, Davis County Commissioner Dannie McConkie said.

More than 10 years ago, Davis County scheduled weekly commission meetings at night, but the meetings were costly and attendance didn't fare well, he said. After the switch back to morning meetings, Davis County tried to accommodate busy residents by hosting a town forum where anyone could air any concern. Only three residents showed up, McConkie said.

"Seldom do very many people ever come to commission meetings," he said. The morning meeting time "works well for us, so we're going to keep it that way."

Salt Lake County Councilman Cort Ashton wants to push the weekly public meeting time from 4 to 5 p.m. That way if someone needs to be there, they can sneak out at the end of the workday, he said.

Work meetings, where the majority of the decisions are made and debated, would start at noon and continue through 5 p.m. without a lunch break. Once the work meeting is over, the public meeting would start and residents could comment on issues, Ashton said.

Changing the meeting time would not only encourage civic involvement but help the part-time council balance full-time jobs with their council responsibilities. Ashton said he could work in the morning before spending the rest of his Tuesdays at county meetings.

But will it work? Will the public actually come to county meetings with the later start time?

"No, I don't think it will fill the seats with interested folks because they are going to want to show up just for their issues, but when their issues do come up I think it will make it a little more accessible," Ashton said.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com