Summary This item is brought before the City Commission to consider the change of the starting time of the Regular City Commission Meetings from 6:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The proposed time change is to continue efforts to encourage public participation at meetings. Many employers end their work day at 5 p.m. By starting the meeting at 6 p.m. rather than 6:30 p.m., it is believed that citizens would be more likely to attend meetings directly after leaving work, instead of going home and then having to return for the meeting.
Also, various City Commission items can take extensive time, forcing meeting times to extend late into the evening. Citizens who would like to be heard regarding a given item may have to wait hours into the night before that item is before the City Commission. Citizens may not be inclined to, or be able to, stay at a meeting that extends late into the evening, thus reducing public participation. By changing the meeting time to 6 p.m., this would help to alleviate this point as well. |