Armstrong council is changing the way it conducts business.
Gone will be the four committee meetings – planning and development; public works; finance and administration; community services – that take place Monday afternoons, the second and fourth Monday of each month, starting at 1:15, hours before the regularly scheduled evening meeting at 7:30.
In its place, council will introduce a committee of the whole meeting that will start at 5:30 p.m. and role into the regular meeting which will now start at 7 p.m.
“What we’re doing is tightening up the bureaucracy,” said Mayor Chris Pieper. “Right now, we have 336 sets of minutes per year for every committee meeting and regular meeting. By going to a committee of the whole, we’ll eliminate 200 sets of agendas and minutes.”
Another reason for the move is to give more people a chance to run for council. The old meeting structure, with its afternoon gatherings, were not doable for a number of residents.
“With committee of the whole and regular meetings both at night, people won’t have to miss work,” said Pieper.
The council procedural bylaw was introduced Monday and is expected to pass at a special meeting Friday.
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