BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead councillors voted 6-1 to approve the template for scheduling council meetings at their meeting on June 24, approving an amended Council Procedural Bylaw.
Coun. Rod Klumph was opposed.
In related but separate motions, councillors also approved the dates for the council meetings for the remainder of 2025 and that the town amends a clause in its Procedural Bylaw to state that council meetings are scheduled to be in accordance with the Municipal Government Act (MGA) unanimously.
Chief Administrative Officer Collin Steffes said the administration brought forth the issue to tidy up the municipality's scheduling of regular council meetings and to make the process more transparent.
He stated that council meetings had been scheduled since May 2014, when the council approved the previous version of the Council Procedural Bylaw, which specified that council meetings should be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, except for December, July, and August, when there would be only one meeting.
Steffes said in 2022 that the council reestablished the summer council meetings via a resolution, noting that councillors did not amend the procedural bylaw.
He then fast-forwarded to 2024, which councillors, once again at the last council meeting in June, agreed to reduce to one meeting for July and August, as well as in September.
Finally, Steffes stated in April that the council amended the Council Procedural Bylaw, which, in effect, approved a bimonthly council meeting schedule, except for December, July, and August, which have only one meeting, reverting to the schedule outlined in the 2014 version of the Procedural Bylaw.
"We want to simplify the process," he said, adding that the MGA council can approve council meeting dates via resolution. "But I would advise council to stay away from a bylaw that has that level of specificity."
Instead, Steffes said administration proposed a council calendar with dates for the remainder of the year, including one meeting in July (July 8), one in August (Aug. 26) and one in December (Dec. 9).
"In the future, [administration will bring] the calendar forward at the December council meeting for council's approval," he said.
Steffes noted that the approved council meeting calendar would be made public, advertised, and shared on the municipality's social media platforms, stating that the proposed calendar would not alter the meeting dates from the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.
He added a similar process and calendar, including the reduced summer meeting schedule, is considered best practice and is in place in 12 municipalities in the area.
Steffes added the reduced summer schedule allows municipal staff to schedule time off.
He also said that if administration or council deems an additional summer meeting is necessary, they could have the authority to schedule a special meeting.
However, Steffes said, in his 15-year career in municipal government, that has only been necessary once.
"That was once, a 20-minute meeting about an investment," he said, adding regardless of the reason, they could "react."
Councillors Ty Assaf and Dave Sawatzky stated they especially liked the process's transparency.
Klumph questioned the need for change, saying he did not see the need.
"I like the old way," he said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
