A Peachland councillor believes the public should have been consulted before changing regular council meetings to a 3 p.m. start time.
乌鸦传媒淭he public is largely satisfied to the extent that our meetings are now broadcast and they乌鸦传媒檙e available online,乌鸦传媒� Coun. Terry Condon said council乌鸦传媒檚 May 6 meeting. 乌鸦传媒淏ut it seems to me we are putting the cart before the horse. I would be more comfortable going to our residents before we make this change.乌鸦传媒�
Regular council meetings start at 6 p.m., generally every second Tuesday. However, council also holds Committee of the Whole, and special meetings earlier on those Tuesdays.
乌鸦传媒淭he shift to the 3 p.m. start is intended to improve internal efficiency, reduce staff overtime costs, and align with the consultant and third party availability during standard business hours,乌鸦传媒� Jennifer Sawatzky, director of corporate services, told council.
Public notice of the change was provided, she added. Residents can view the or at the district office.
The new schedule is a pilot program running until the end of 2025, giving the district time to assess its effectiveness before making it permanent.
Condon questioned what criteria would be used to evaluate the change.
乌鸦传媒淎 reduction in special meetings would be a measurement we could use to indicate if we乌鸦传媒檙e using council乌鸦传媒檚 time in a good manner,乌鸦传媒� Sawatzky responded. 乌鸦传媒淎nother metric could be the attendance of public members in the audience.乌鸦传媒�
Someone else at the meeting noted that public attendance was a 乌鸦传媒渉ot ticket,乌鸦传媒� a sentiment Condon agreed with.
乌鸦传媒淚 think we all know attendance at public council meetings乌鸦传媒t乌鸦传媒檚 a real hot ticket,乌鸦传媒� Condon said, chuckling.
Council unanimously gave the bylaw amendment three readings, with the final adoption scheduled for a future meeting.
