An ordinance that would change the City of Hopkinsville’s regular city council and Committee of the Whole meeting times to 5 p.m. was sent to the Committee of the Whole for further study after council members raised questions about public notice, staff compensation and council member schedules.

The ordinance (Ordinance 1-2025) would amend sections of chapter 31 of the Hopkinsville Code of Ordinances to set regular legislative meetings for the first and third Tuesday of each month and the Committee of the Whole to meet the Thursday after the regular meeting at 5:00 p.m. The ordinance text states the change is intended in part to reduce staff overtime and make scheduling more predictable.

Council members said they supported the intent but wanted more information and public input. “My only thinking is … I had asked how much of an actual savings is that gonna give us in dollar amounts,” Council member Amy Craig said during discussion. Craig added that some council members historically had work conflicts that kept them from attending earlier meetings and that she did not want to move meeting times without checking those conflicts.

The mayor, explaining the rationale, said the change was proposed to reduce staff time spent waiting at the municipal building after meetings: “...our staff has to hang out later in the evening. And part of our staff gets paid of it, part of them don't get paid of it.” The mayor said the request was made “for the staff reason only.”

Council member Donald Marsh moved to send the ordinance to the Committee of the Whole for more study; the motion was seconded and a roll-call vote was taken. The motion passed, sending the ordinance to the Committee of the Whole, where council members said they expect staff to provide a breakdown of the projected dollar and comp-time savings and to solicit public comment before any final vote.

The ordinance will require two readings before final adoption; council members discussed timing so the Committee of the Whole could review before the second reading. Several council members recommended publishing the change on the city’s social channels and soliciting public feedback before final action.

The discussion included procedural questions about how the city’s agenda and meeting times are set: council members noted the time is set by ordinance and that changing the time or agenda placement would therefore require formal ordinance amendment and adequate notice. Several members said they had not yet reached out to the public and preferred more time to do so.

The council did not take a final substantive vote on Ordinance 1-2025 at the Jan. 9 meeting; the council voted only to send the ordinance to the Committee of the Whole for additional study and public outreach.