WARRNAMBOOL City Council meetings will be held on the first Monday of every month with the municipality ditching the three-week cycle.
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The new monthly schedule was unanimously adopted by councillors this week with the four-week format coming into effect from September 1.
Council meetings have been held every three weeks with a summer break since Warrnambool City returned to elected representatives in 1996, following the state commission period.
Warrnambool Mayor Michael Neoh said the new format was easier to understand, given that meetings will usually fall on the first Monday of every month.
“A number of councils in our region hold monthly meetings like Moyne and Corangamite,” Cr Neoh said.
There was some debate about the scheduling of councillor briefings with councillors Peter Hulin and Brian Kelson claiming the mid-afternoon format was hard on business operators.
“I think you need a variety of people serving as councillors and the current situation with briefing times is not business-friendly,” Cr Hulin said.
However, Cr Kylie Gaston said it was hard to please everyone when it came to meeting schedules and the late afternoon sessions allowed flexibility for councillors with young children.
As part of the new schedule, Warrnambool City Council meetings will be staged on September 1, October 6 and 27, November 3 and December 1 before the Christmas/New Year recess.
The mayoral induction will be held on October 27 in tandem with the annual meeting.
Greater Geelong and Ballarat City hold council meetings fortnightly while Latrobe City and Greater Bendigo councils hold meetings on a three-week rotation.
Greater Shepparton, Wodonga City, Mildura Rural City, Glenelg, Moyne and Corangamite shires all hold their municipal meetings on a monthly basis.