Kelowna city Councillor Charlie Hodge’s bid to change the days council meets has been rebuffed by his colleagues.
Hodge, who wanted the day regular public council meetings are held changed to Tuesday from the current Monday, said when he brought the issue up at a meeting earlier this week, there was no appetite amongst his colleagues to make the change.
Hodge wanted the change in order to give him, the mayor and other councillors, more time to ask questions of city staff and to go out and meet people involved in upcoming agendas items, prior to making decisions at the next council meeting.
Hodge, who receives a hard copy of the upcoming council agenda on the Friday before the Monday afternoon meetings—in addition to the electronic version distributed to the mayor and all councillors on the Thursday before the Monday meeting—said more time would help with the decision-making process.
In a submission to council, he said his proposal was not intended to happen right away, but rather take place over the remaining three years of the current council’s mandate or coincide with the start of the next council’s term in 2018.
Despite his request that council look at the change, he said other councillors felt there is sufficient time to review the agenda and go ook at properties to be discussed and talk to people in the community.
On Monday, Hodge said one of his concerns is that by the time he reviews the hard copy agenda on a Friday, there are times when city staff members he needs to talk to have either gone home or have taken that day off.
He said while his proposal was discussed by council, the issue never came to a vote.
“This council’s on record as saying we are wiling to look at things with an open mind and not simply continue to do things in a certain manner because that is how we have always done it,” said Hodge in his submission to his council colleagues. “I believe this is the perfect litmus test for that suggestion.”
