Starting next year, Courtenay council meetings will move from Mondays to Wednesdays.
This change reduces the schedule impacts from statutory holidays and gives the public more time to review meeting agendas and reports from five days, to seven days.
When discussing the schedule changes, mayor Bob Wells says the city will be able to reach more people before discussing important topics.
“With most statutory holidays falling on Mondays, moving our Council meetings to Wednesdays makes a lot of sense,” said Wells.
“With the variety and volume of reports in our agendas, especially for more complex technical information, this change will give the city more time to raise awareness within the community about what we’re working on before these items are considered by council.”
Amendments will also be made to the council procedure bylaw. Amendments include incorporating electronic participation options, clarifying guidelines for eligible council delegations, eliminating exclusive gender binary language, amending the council meeting calendar and logistics planning processes, and changing the adjournment time from midnight to 9 p.m.
The updated bylaw will come back to council for consideration in the new year.
For more information on city council meetings, you can check out the City of Courtenay’s website.
Story by Hussam Elghussein, Vista Radio
