Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gadsden council explains recent change to meeting schedule to shorten staff wait time
Summary
Council leaders said the council will start the regular council meeting before the pre-council work session going forward to reduce staff wait time, a change the council voted to approve at a prior meeting and discussed on the record as taking effect this week.
Gadsden City Council leaders explained a recently approved change in the council’s meeting sequence intended to shorten the amount of time department heads spend waiting to provide reports.
Council members said the council voted last week to reverse the usual sequence — beginning the regular council meeting first and holding the work session afterward — so department heads who must attend council can return to their duties sooner. The council president said the change is intended to make meetings more efficient and respectful of staff time; he acknowledged the new arrangement may produce initial hiccups.
Council discussion during the meeting noted a lengthy executive session earlier in the day had extended the meeting and that the council will monitor the new sequence to see if it improves scheduling. No additional ordinance, rule change, or formal amendment was proposed during the discussion; the change was characterized as an operational adjustment already approved at a prior meeting.
The council also announced a nuisance and abatement hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in the same chambers; that hearing was separate from the sequence change and will proceed under the new meeting order.
