Kings County council has opted to change its monthly meeting structure.
Chief Administrative Officer Bob Ashley said the council meetings are getting too long and there is a need to make decisions more frequently by splitting meetings up and spreading them out.
Council debated adopting a three-day “piggyback” structure, where council would hold both a committee and regular council meeting in one day; which day the additional meeting could be held to minimize conflicts with other meetings; and whether to move to a four-day meeting structure in the future.
“This council is turning slowly into a professional council,” Ashley said in presenting his recommendations at the June meeting.
Council voted to adopt a three-day structure as a pilot transition, making the fourth Tuesday of the month the “piggyback” meeting, with committee of the whole in the afternoon and council meeting in the evening. This is subject to council review, with the option to move to a four-day structure if and when needed.
Ashley said the three-day structure would begin in July and the four-day structure would probably begin in September, after council takes a recess from meeting in August, with the exception of the Aug. 28 committee meeting.
