When former Nye County Commissioners Patricia Cox and Candice Trummell were on the board, Pahrump meetings were scheduled over two days, with regular business on Tuesday and the planning items on Wednesday.

At the end of 2007, Commissioner Butch Borasky, Trummell's replacement, suggested cutting the Pahrump meetings back to one day, which took effect in March 2008.

For this Tuesday's meeting in Pahrump, the commission agenda has been tightened up to a half-day, with planning items bumped up to the morning instead of the afternoon. That's a precedent that will likely be in place for county commission meetings from now on.

"Some of us remember these meetings that went to 8 at night, and it's all chit-chat," Borasky said recently. "I think we got a group that's really doing their research and being very diligent and aware of what's in there. So why sit in a meeting and beat it to death all day?

"I used to take offense at meetings that would go so late, all you're doing is arguing over nothing and then you vote for something anyway. I don't like to go in and nit-pick every contract and every item for the spelling or for what someone likes to do. If I get passionate about something, I say a lot."

Commissioner Joni Eastley noted Clark County commissioners rapidly dispense with business at their meetings.

County Commissioner Gary Hollis often gets riled up over public lands issues like water rights or the desert tortoise. On other issues, Eastley, the board chairman, had to prod him to explain his vote, as when Hollis voted against hiring the new county comptroller.

County commissioners place a lot of items on the consent agenda that are viewed as routine -- like grants from the Division of Aging Services for a senior center program, hiring low-level employees or equipment purchases -- in which many items can be approved with one motion. But the consent agenda also includes the annual contracts for consultants hired by the Nye County Nuclear Waste Projects Office, which amounts to more than $2 million.

A $233,686 contract for a well in Manhattan is on the consent agenda for the Tuesday meeting.

By contrast, the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission spends hours debating rezoning requests. After a sufficient airing at the RPC meeting, those RPC recommendations are usually approved without much discussion at the county commission level.

The legislative intent of the Nevada Open Meetings Act states, "Public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly."

Often items are voted on with no discussion, like the appointment of members to the crucial Nye County Water District earlier this year. The precedent began soon after the replacement of Trummell and Cox by Borasky and Peter Liakopoulos in January 2007, like the approval two months later of a $386,946 contract with Bureau Veritas for a flood control study with no discussion.

Commissioners have a light agenda Tuesday but could need the additional time to consider recommendations from the planning commission on rezoning the remaining problem parcels from the northwest side of Pahrump.

Commissioners will consider actions to correct road encroachment violations in Comstock Park. A development agreement for the Front Sight master plan is up for approval. Landscaping requirements will be up for revision.