City council meets the second and fourth Mondays of every month, but Coun. Heather Eby thinks the schedule should change to ensure council stays better informed of what’s happening at city hall.
Eby introduced a motion during the March 14 regular council meeting that, starting in September, council’s executive and regular meetings would occur every second Monday unless a holiday occurs, in which case, the meeting would occur Tuesday. Furthermore, strategic meetings would continue and be held monthly as determined.
“This isn’t a hill I’m wanting to die on, but it’s something I wanted to bring forward,” she said.
Before 2017, city council met every Monday and rotated between its executive committee meeting and its regular meetings, Eby explained. She enjoyed that system since she felt “in the loop” and always knew what was happening within the city.
That schedule changed in 2017 after a motion was approved to meet twice a month on the second and fourth Mondays, she continued. However, that rotation meant there are now two three-week breaks throughout the year. The most recent three-week break occurred from Feb. 28 to March 14.
“I just found that really long and just felt really disconnected as a city councillor with what’s happening at city hall,” Eby said. “I know it’s great for administration and staff to have three weeks off not dealing with us and do their work and not be hampered by us, but we are elected to be part of the process and help make decisions.
“I know we have other input other than here, but this is the only place that what we say really makes a difference,” she added. “I just feel that as council, we would better serve our community if we were here every second week as opposed to the second and fourth Mondays of the month.”
Based on the current schedule, city council meets 22 to 23 times a year, noted Coun. Dawn Luhning. If the schedule were to change based on Eby’s motion, council would meet 26 times a year.
“It is good for us to meet more often,” Luhning added. “I, too, feel a little bit disconnected with what’s happening at city hall.”
Coun. Doug Blanc felt torn by the motion, pointing out the proposed change would affect two months this year, including November. However, since council has additional budget meetings in November, only one month would be affected.
If council wanted to have an extra meeting, it could call one, and the mayor and three members would need to be present, he added. Although he wasn’t opposed to meeting more, he thought the current system worked well.
Mayor Clive Tolley opposed the motion, saying his calendar was already full for the upcoming year since his office and city administration had planned activities around council’s schedule. He agreed with Blanc that an extra meeting could be called if necessary.
Council then voted 3-3 on the motion; it was defeated since it ended in a tie.
Councillors Jamey Logan, Eby and Luhning were in favour, while Mayor Clive Tolley and Councillors Kim Robinson and Blanc were opposed.
Coun. Crystal Froese was absent.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 28.
