CANMORE – Canmore’s elected officials have changed when and how many regular business meetings are held each month beginning in 2019.
Municipal clerk Cheryl Hyde presented the changed meeting schedule to council during its annual organizational meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 23).
“The recommendation is to keep with the current schedule until the end of the year and then make a big change starting Jan. 1, 2019,” Hyde said. “The big change is to go from two regular meetings a month to one and to change the times from the evening to the morning.”
Currently, council’s schedule each month is comprised of a regular business meeting at 5 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday, and a committee of the whole meeting at 1 p.m. the second Tuesday.
The unanimously approved new schedule would see only one regular business meeting in the calendar for the first Tuesday of the month at 9 a.m. and committee of the whole set for 1 p.m. on the third Tuesday.
The second and fourth Tuesday of each month would be reserved for special meetings or public hearings as needed. The second Tuesday would be reserved for a 5 p.m. timeslot and the fourth Tuesday at 9 a.m.
The only exception to the schedule is a break for council from its July committee of the whole meeting until Aug. 20 – a five-week recess for summer vacations.
In the staff report to council the reason provided for the change of time and number of meetings was a more efficient use of administration’s time.
“Reducing the number of meetings and holding them during business hours is intended to make more efficient use of staff time and resources,” Hyde wrote. “Many larger municipalities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa follow a similar schedule.”
Council can change the schedule through a motion with a minimum of 24 hours notice required.
