City Council will continue to keep workshop meetings at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays with regular meetings on Thursdays.
What you need to know
During the March 12 workshop meeting, Conroe council rediscussed the possibility of starting workshop and regular meetings at 6 p.m. and keeping the Wednesday and Thursday slots. However, council member Marsha Porter pointed out that city employees do not receive overtime.
Other benefits to keeping the two-day meetings the same that were discussed during the March 12 workshop meeting included allowing council members the opportunity to think over agenda item discussion after workshop meetings before voting.
“It does give you a chance to think about what was discussed, gives you time to do more research, think about it,” council member Shana Arthur said during the March 12 workshop meeting. “But I do agree with you [council member Harry Hardman], 6 o'clock for both times for the council, I think that's a little more beneficial for the citizens.”
How we got here
Conroe City Council first discussed consolidating workshop and regular meetings into one during its Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 meetings, as previously reported.
Previous discussions presented options like starting meetings after 5 p.m. or starting at 8:30 a.m. to allow citizens the opportunity to come before City Council, according to prior reporting.
Ultimately, the decision to keep meetings at their current times spanning over two days passed with no opposition.
What they’re saying
- "I think it was an effort to consolidate, from a time standpoint, for our staff, but we want to be considerate of our citizens first and foremost,” Mayor Duke Coon said during the March 12 workshop meeting.
- “For me personally, it's beneficial to do it in two days to hear the discussion from all of us on pertinent items, think about it through the night, and then come back and have another opportunity to discuss and vote, and then I think it's even more important to give the opportunity to our citizens,” council member David Hairel said during the March 12 workshop meeting.
