For the first time in years, the Montgomery County Board held their full board meeting at night on Tuesday. Jan. 8.

The board began their first meeting of the year by adopting the rules of order, but some changes were made to the rules before they were approved.

One rule that was changed states that "any board member wishing to submit a question to the State's Attorney shall first submit the question to the appropriate Committee Chair, or the Chairman of the County Board." Previously, the rule did not include submitting a question to the board Chairman, however Chairman Evan Young said this change was made in case a board member felt he or she was being blocked by a certain committee chair.

Another change increased the amount of money for expenditures that would require the board to utilize a roll call vote. The amount was increased from $50,000 to $100,000. Now, whenever the board votes to appropriate funds and the amount is in excess of $100,000, the board must utilize a roll call vote. Young stated that any board member could still call for a roll call vote at any time for any reason.

The board also heard from Kelly Moroney with the Montgomery County Housing Authority. She updated the board on progress that has been made on the housing complex on Long Avenue in Hillsboro, stating that 50 family units will be torn down and replaced with single-family homes.

She also announced that the housing authority is in negotiations to take over the Brown Shoe Apartments in Litchfield. She said current ownership has allowed the apartments to deteriorate and that the county cannot afford to lose any additional housing. She said roughly half of the apartments in the building are empty because they are uninhabitable.

The housing authority plans on closing on the apartments by the end of the month, and Moroney said they plan on putting $3.5 million into restoring the facility.

The next Montgomery County Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 5:30 p.m.