Fort Frances council will start its regularly scheduled Monday meetings half an hour earlier beginning next January, rejecting for a now a proposal to move the weekly assembly to Tuesdays.
The move made during its Sept. 22 meeting will allow participants to head home 30 minutes earlier, which be particularly beneficial during the short days of winter, said Town Clerk Chelsea Greig. Meeting agendas will be published at noon on the previous Friday.
According to a report to council, holding meetings earlier will be more convenient for public delegates, especially those who are representing an organization that operates during regular business hours.
Councillor John McTaggart said he’s fine with starting council meetings at 5 p.m. instead of 5:30 p.m., “But I say that as not having a fulltime job. And I would yield to those who are working, if it’s going to work for them.”
A change of the regular meeting day to Tuesday was proposed to give administration staff an extra day to prepare for the meetings and afford councillors more time to study their agenda packages. It was also thought the change of day would allow more time for the public to provide feedback on issues coming before council.
“Another reason is some meetings during the year land on holiday Mondays,” Greig said. “This would remove the need to reschedule those.”
McTaggart said he believes a change from Mondays to Tuesdays would best be left to the next council to decide following the October 2026 municipal election. That way, potential candidates will know meetings will be held on Tuesdays before they ink their name to the ballot. The change could influence an individual’s availability, he said.
“I’m hearing that Tuesdays might be difficult, but that five o’clock start might be all right,” Mayor Andrew Hallikas said.
Coun. Bill Morrison said he could make such a change work, if necessary, but that it would not be an easy switch.
“For me, I probably wouldn’t have been able to run if it was Tuesdays,” Morrison said. “It’s going to be very difficult for me because I do have work things going on Tuesday as well.”
