The Dawson County Board of Commissioners will be holding a series of hearings over the next two weeks to discuss the 2019 budget. This is the second year that the board has opted for open-door meetings after Chairman Billy Thurmond decided to begin holding meetings with the rest of the commissioners as well as opening up the process to the public. Previously, the chairman of the commission along with the finance department and county manager would create the budget after meeting with the various department heads individually. The budget would then be presented to the rest of the commissioners for approval.