For the first time since its creation 30 years ago, the Knox County E9-1-1 Board of Directors is working on a formal set of bylaws to govern its operation.

Three board members and board attorney Don Howell met Thursday to discuss the need for bylaws to define various committees and whether those bodies fall under the state’s Open Meetings Act. The ad hoc group met at the urging of Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero.

Howell told the group the board has functioned since 1985 on policies and procedures mandated by state laws in 1984 that allowed the creation of the emergency communications districts to oversee 9-1-1 operations. The state laws outlined how Knox County would select its 11-member board and set appointed members’ terms at four years.

Problems arose on the board when some members discussed board business in person and in emails outside public view in apparent violation of the state sunshine laws. Rogero discovered the apparent violations when the News Sentinel requested board members’ emails regarding a proposed $8.9 million radio system upgrade.

Rogero said she would take active part in the board rather than have a proxy represent her, as she had done for the past three years. At the board’s April 15 meeting, Rogero requested the group cobble together some formal guidelines for the board, including how various committees operate and how the board selects officers.

“Here’s the deal,” Rogero said Thursday. “This is an odd sort of organization.”

Rogero asked Howell to compile a set of bylaws and definitions from state law and historic practices of the personnel, finance, user’s and technical committees that report to the board. Most vexing are the user’s and technical committees, which Howell said never were formal bodies, but evolved through the years as groups that provide input to the board.

The user’s committee is composed of representatives from the emergency agencies that use the E9-1-1 radio system. The technical committee is a subcommittee of the user’s committee and has members with detailed knowledge of how the computerized radio system functions. Board chairwoman Linda Murawski asked whether the two groups couldn’t just be advisory in nature.

“The question is, do we want to set it up so they do function under the board’s authority?” Howell asked.

Board member Brad Anders said because emergency agencies pay to use the E9-1-1 radio system, they should have input on decisions affecting its operation. But Anders also cautioned about exposing some of the security discussions users engage in about the publicly funded system to requirements of sunshine laws.

The bylaws committee asked Howell to work with E9-1-1 Director Bob Coker to compile state policies and procedures and local board practices in a single document so the board can begin formulating official bylaws to govern the board’s actions and committees under it. No deadline was set for completion of the task.