Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
At least one resident of Fort Smith doesn't like the fact some of town council's committee and advisory meetings are held during the daytime.

Bernie Minute: member of Fort Smith town council says a councillor's personal time can't all be filled with meetings. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"Since moving to this community, I've wondered why you guys hold your meetings in the middle of the day and not in the evening when your public could actually attend," said Emmanuelle Nixon at the Town of Fort Smith's annual general meeting on Oct. 25.

Nixon said she knows councillors may have to take time off work in order to attend, but they are elected officials and get honorariums.

"Your general public, if we want to attend any of these meetings, we can't take time off work to attend, and you're holding them at 8:30 in the morning, 8:45 in the morning."

She suggested holding all meetings in the evening.

However, Coun. Bernie Minute noted he is a private businessperson and has a young family.

"If we start having every one of our meetings in the evening, I might as well just wait for my kids to graduate before I see them," he said.

Minute noted he chairs one of the committee meetings held at 8:30 a.m.

"It's by request," he said. "It fits in with my schedule and, to me, it's important that we do it during the day."

Minute noted council meetings can't fill every last evening for councillors.

While recognizing councillors all have personal lives, Nixon said they ran for office and must make adjustments to hold their seats on council.

Another community resident, Denise Yuhas, suggested councillors list the number of meetings they are required to attend in the town's annual report.

"It would give anybody a reality check that's thinking of sitting in those chairs exactly how much time you guys do spend doing meetings," she said.

Minute observed there might be a problem with letting the public know more about the number of meetings.

"If we were to publish stuff like that, I would imagine that the next election there would be a lot less people willing to run," he said.

According to Mayor Janie Hobart more than 80 per cent of council's meetings are held in the evenings or over lunch hours.

Two standing committees – one for municipal services and the other for finance and audit – hold once-a-month meetings in the morning. The standing committee on community services and advisory boards hold their once-a-month meetings over lunch hours.

Monthly regular council meetings and committee of the whole meetings, along with special meetings, are held in the evening.

All meetings are open to the public.

Hobart noted the town is looking at ways to televise all meetings.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.