Kitchener wants to scale back time spent in meetings
Posted Jan 13, 2014 09:29:07 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Kitchener City Council is looking to cut down the amount of time they spend in meetings.
Councillors will sort through 16 proposals from city staff today.
The changes were presented nearly a month ago but put on hold so the public could weigh in.
Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr tells 570 News that no input has been received at this time but he doesn’t think the discussion will be heated.
“They’re common sense issues in terms of limitations of time that people can speak as member of council, the number of questions that people can ask at one time, and making sure that we are utilizing our time as effective as possible.”
One change that has already been approved is extending the amount of time reports are available before they head to council. Zehr believes this allows the public more time to digest the issues at hand and gives councillors a longer time to read the report.
In 2012 just over 60 hours were spent in council meetings – that breaks down to about 4 hours per meeting – double the time several other municipalities meet for.
A full list of the proposed changes can be found HERE.
