Residents who make presentations to city council won’t have to wait until the end anymore, as council’s meeting schedule has been adjusted so that the executive committee meetings happen first.
Beginning Monday, Dec. 14, the public portion of city council’s executive committee meetings will begin at 4 p.m., with the regular meeting to follow at 5:30 p.m. This is a break from the past, where the executive committee meeting was held second, and anyone scheduled to speak with council in-camera — behind closed doors — had to sometimes wait until late in the evening.
The chair of executive committee will have the power to call and schedule in-camera meetings if necessary.
Regular and executive council meetings will occur on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, except for statutory holidays, when meetings will be scheduled for Tuesday as long as that day isn’t a holiday.
Shaw Cable has also committed to broadcasting the public executive committee meetings with the new start time, along with the regular public meeting.
City council unanimously approved the change during its Dec. 7 regular meeting.
Council discussion
One issue that several council members discussed in the past was how bad they felt when delegations were still waiting to speak at 9 p.m. after hours of deliberations on other matters, said Coun. Dawn Luhning. She pointed out that the City of Regina recently changed its council meetings so that its council meets Wednesday mornings and afternoons.
With the changes being made to Moose Jaw council’s schedule, councillors might have some opportunity to refresh their brains in between meetings so they’re not discussing important issues at 10 or 11 p.m., she continued. Starting earlier would also ensure Shaw TV has staff on hand to broadcast the meetings.
Mayor Fraser Tolmie and councillors Heather Eby, Jamey Logan, Kim Robinson and Doug Blanc all spoke in favour of changing the meeting times for various reasons.
Coun. Crystal Froese was absent due to family commitments.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 14.
