Meetings moved to evenings FREEHOLD — In an effort to make county government more accessible and open to the public, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has changed its meeting schedule for 2006 and will hold all public meetings in the evening hours. “I am committed to improving Monmouth County government by re-examining how we operate,” Freeholder Director William C. Barham said in a press release. “Hopefully, holding all of our regular public meetings in the evening hours will encourage more participation by our residents.” The Board of Freeholders will meet on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Workshop meetings will continue to be held at 2 p.m., but all regular meetings will now be held at 7 p.m. Additionally, the fourth-week evening meetings from March through September will be rotated throughout the county as was done in the past. All other meetings will be held in the Monmouth County Hall of Records. The freeholders have set the meeting dates and times for January and February, and will set the schedule for the rest of the year during a meeting next month. According to James Gray, clerk to the freeholder board, the meeting rotation is designed to cover all regions of the county. Below are the tentative locations of those meetings that will be rotated: March 23, Lake Como, 7 p.m.; April 27, Neptune, 7 p.m.; May 25, Manalapan, 7 p.m.; June 22, Highlands, 7 p.m.; July 27, Long Branch, 7 p.m.; Aug. 24, Spring Lake Heights, 7 p.m.; and Sept. 21, Hazlet, 7 p.m.