Why did a commissioner “third” a motion?

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Members of the Clark County Charter Review Commission appeared a bit fatigued at the end of a meeting Tuesday, so much so that the motion to adjourn was “thirded.” 

The newly formed, 15-member commission has accepted the crucial, albeit wonky, duty of reviewing the county government’s 22-page guiding document. But before they could do that, commissioners needed to adopt even the most basic rules for themselves. So the commission spent much of Tuesday’s meeting adopting its own bylaws before discussing the charter itself at a future one. 

The commission talked about establishing a regular meeting schedule and how it wanted to divvy up chair responsibilities, among several other things. Commissioners would at times make several motions at once and even question how they should make those motions, stirring a stew of confusion. 

By the end of the meeting, the bylaws had been adopted, and its leadership positions were solidified. Commissioners acknowledged that meetings with 15 members would be challenging, especially in a virtual format, but they’re now on more solid footing to actually review the charter.

That, however, only came after a meeting scheduled for two hours ended in nearly 3 ½ hours. 

When the motion to adjourn came, it rapidly received a “second,” which made it official. Still, Commissioner Chuck Green jokingly added for good measure, “third.”