In a walk-on motion for Thursday’s Council Governance Committee meeting, Hamilton City Councillors will vote to decrease their meetings in 2025 and increase the number of weeks “off” to 18.
City Council will hold 15 ratifications meetings in 2025, a decrease of nearly 25 percent from the 19 held in 2025.
Because this walk-on motion, there is no opportunity for public input before the scheduled vote.
In 2020, citing the COVID emergency, Hamilton City Council ‘temporarily’ ended evening meetings. The change was made permanent.
City Clerk Matthew Trennum, who prepared the new calendar at the request of City Council, states in the written report that “dialogue with interested parties was undertaken.”
“This change will allow for greater agenda management, strategic reporting and will ease the schedule pressure for both Members of Council and Staff alike,” the report states as the reason for the new schedule.
Under the new schedule, Council will return from a four-week Christmas break on January 13, recess again on January 22, and then return nearly two weeks later on February 3.
They’ll meet from February 3 to 12, then recess again for 12 days. This pattern will continue until mid-June.
Council will take a two-week recess for Canada Day, a 12-day recess in the middle of July, then a 32-day recess for August into mid-September.
School children return to classes on September 2. City council members will return to meetings on September 8.
Councillor will take a four-week recess for Christmas.
Council’s Governance Committee is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. The meeting will be streamed on YouTube.
[Note: the motion report refers to the 18 weeks as “off” weeks.]
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: October 30, 2024 Last updated: October 30, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version