Belleville Councillor Jack Miller, March 29, 2016. (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Belleville city council has decided to revert to its former earlier “start time” despite a bid by Councillor Paul Carr to keep it at 5 p.m.
Carr had argued that it was important for deputations by the public to have easy access, and pointed to 17 municipalities from the Greater Toronto area to Ontario’s eastern border that meet later in the day.
Councillor Jack Miller, who introduced the motion, said council gave the 5 p.m. time “a shot” but he didn’t see any increase in members of the public attending meetings.
He pointed to live-streaming of meetings on the internet where they are also archived for the public to access.
Council approved the by-law to return to the long-standing 4 p.m. start, on a recorded vote of 5-to-4 with councillors Panciuk, McCaw, Boyce and Carr voting against.
