Beginning in March 2020, Newmarket council’s traditional 7 p.m. evening public council meetings may run during the day for a one-year trial period.
Committee of the whole meetings will continue to be held during the daytime.
Committee of the whole is a public meeting that functions as a working group where initial discussions and debate take place among council members on a wide range of issues.
Council meetings, on the other hand, are often the venue where final decisions are made.
Both meetings find local residents turning out to share concerns, feedback and make presentations on a wide array of community matters, but more of them do so during daytime hours, according to town staff.
For example, between Dec. 1, 2018 and Sept. 30, 2019, 44 deputations were heard at the afternoon committee of the whole sessions versus eight deputations at the evening council meetings.
This time change is being considered due to a number of factors, including that more local citizens attend daytime meetings, 9 to 5 is no longer considered the normal working day, both council and committee meetings are live-streamed and archived on the town’s website, and town staff are available during the day to answer questions.
Matters of significant public interest, such as the debate to allow retail pot shops in Newmarket, and planning and development-related applications will continue to be scheduled for the evening.
On Monday, Feb. 24, council will consider three meeting time options: Maintain the status quo of 7 p.m. evening council meetings; begin daytime council meetings at 12:30 p.m.; or start council meetings at 1 p.m.
In addition, a slightly later start time of 1 p.m. will be considered for the committee of the whole meeting, rather than the current 12:30 p.m.
A majority of Newmarket council members have expressed a preference for daytime council meetings.
If approved, Newmarket will join Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, the Regional Municipality of York, Toronto, and others in a move to daytime public meetings on most matters up for discussion in a municipality.
The staff report on the subject noted that addressing council formally in-person is no longer the primary method that residents use to engage their elected officials.
Email, social media platforms, telephone, public information centres, surveys, and even informal, chance meetings at community events are all ways residents interact with their local politicians.
You can read the full report here.
