MILTON — Milton's working-class residents who normally miss Milton's 3 p.m. Committee of the Whole meetings may find it easier to attend now that council has changed the time.
Milton City Council voted 5 to 3 to move the start time of the city's committee of the whole meeting from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Feb. 12 city council meetings. Voting against the time change were Councilman George Jordan and Councilwomen Sharon Holley and Mary Ellen Johnson.
The rationale for doing this, according to the council, is to allow those council members and city residents wishing to attend the meetings who work until 5 p.m. enough time to attend council meetings.
Jordan, one of the nay voters, said he was concerned about moving the meeting time because of a conflicting organizational membership he felt would prevent him from being able to attend the meetings. He also said the Committee of the Whole meetings were where council received information from city staff and so moving the time would be an inconvenience to them.
"I feel we should take staff into consideration when we figure the times of our meetings," Jordan said.
Mayor Heather Lindsay said council could consider compromising on a time for the meetings. She also said nothing is finalized in Committee of the Whole meetings.
"There's opportunity for the public to be involved in the discussion then and following then time," she said. "There's opportunity for each council member to be introduced to a topic and to debate it then and if they can't fully debate it because they don't have enough information …they can ask for it to continue to study it at another Committee of the Whole."
Milton city resident Al Brewton said that he felt the meeting time needed to stay the same and that he didn't feel it was right for the council to move it because of issues with their personal schedules.
"When you signed up for this job you knew what the time the meetings were," Brewton said. "I've been attending these meetings for over six years. You can count on one hand the number of people who attend these meetings unless its a heated debate. If you want to come, you will make time."
Councilman Jeff Snow said while he was open to leaving the meetings at the original time, he supported the move to accommodate those who could not attend due to conflicts.
"The times were changed to later to allow people who work to attend these meeting," Snow said.
Councilman Casey Powell said he moved to change the time based on public input.
"I could take time off my job and I have done it for the last three years," he said. "Some of us have jobs that we have to go to so yes, it makes it more convenient but am I willing to sacrifice that? Absolutely."
The Committee of the Whole will meet Feb. 21 in council chambers at city hall.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: City seeks more involvement