Hamilton City Council is promising its new meeting schedule will improve public engagement.
In a unanimous vote, councillors on the Governance Committee approved having 15 Council ratification meetings in 2025, down from 19 per year.
City Clerk Matthew Trennum says the new schedule will enable better adherence to report timelines, and ensure public reports are released well enough in advance of meetings to ensure the public can provide input to their elected officials.
“The public would have just more time now to see things as would councillors,” Trennum says.
“That’s the overall goal of this. My goal is to give everyone as much time as possible, from the publishing of the agenda to the meeting.”
Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko says there is a “misconception that meetings are work.”
“I think meetings actually get in the way of the actual work … the actual work is not happening in a meeting.”
The new Council calendar lists 18 weeks “off” in 2025, including a 32-day vacation period in August that will extend into the second week of September.
Councillors are expected to deal with the same number of reports in 2025. The new plan will likely mean meetings will extend longer than they presently do.
The “off” weeks can be used for extra meetings if needed.
City Council is scheduled to debate changes to agenda disclosure timelines later in November.
The 2025 meeting schedule needs to be ratified by the full Council in the coming weeks.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: November 1, 2024 Last updated: November 1, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version