In an effort to increase administrative efficiencies, City Council has directed Administration to change the time for the commencement of Public Hearings from 4 p.m. to 3 p.m., beginning in September 2022.
City Council on Tuesday voted 8-1 in favour of the motion.
"Council recognizes creating efficiency in meeting processes and this will assist in providing good governance to the municipality," says Councillor Rajko Dodic, who introduced the motion.
City Council has historically held Public Hearings at 4 p.m. but recently identified that there is often a long recess between Council items and Public Hearings, adding potential inefficiency into the meeting process. As such, scheduling Public Hearings to earlier in the day may increase administrative efficiencies related to Public Hearings.
Public Hearings must still follow a legislatively prescribed advertising process. As part of Tuesday's motion, Administration has also been tasked with: 1. Preparing an amendment to the Council and Standing Policy Committee Meetings calendar to remove the time for Public Hearings; and 2. Preparing a communication campaign for the community to provide notice of these changes.
