Councillors in Quispamsis will explore having fewer meetings as part of a review of the town’s procedural bylaw.
The proposal would mean one regular meeting per month and one committee of the whole meeting per month.
Some concerns were raised about what cutting the number of meetings could mean for the amount of material to be covered in a regular meeting.
Coun. Doug MacDonald says the change could lead to longer meetings or delayed decisions.
“If there’s something like a bylaw change that requires three readings over two meetings, that means you’re now going to have two months where you’re going to have to wait for that enactment versus perhaps one,” he said.
One goal is to improve efficiency and create a more consistent and predictable meeting schedule for both councillors and the public, particularly councillors who hold day jobs.
Another is to allow for more discussion of important issues.
“The one thing I can tell you over the last five years that I’ve heard from council is that they want to be able have more discussion,” said Mayor Mary Schryer.
“Sometimes the stringent council agenda doesn’t allow for that. So we’ve worked together to try to come up with a solution that would give council the ability to have that happen.”
The town will test the schedule for three months.
