Council pondering later meetings

A proposal to start Timaru District Council meetings at a later time has drawn strong discussion but no decision from councillors.

Timaru District deputy mayor Steve Wills put the idea forward at Tuesday’s council meeting as a means of increasing the transparency for council activities. Wills suggested moving the start time from 9am to 3pm.

‘‘This is a great opportunity for members of the community to come along and be engaged. Hopefully we will create more interest,’’ Wills said.

Cr Allan Booth said it was a good idea because it would allow for people to come after work to watch the council meetings.

Cr Barbara Gilchrist said she was open to the idea, but felt it would be good to take meetings into the communities – particularly Temuka, Geraldine and Pleasant Point.

Cr Richard Lyon said he was concerned it would be seen as ‘‘double dipping’’.

Councillors were already remunerated for their time, while he was also concerned about the extra pressure on staff.

‘‘I’m not saying it’s not worth a try, but it is an experiment,’’ Lyon said.

Cr Paddy O’Reilly said initiatives such as taking council meetings out into the community or changing the start time could be a goer.

‘‘Because transparency is the key word out there, we need to open our doors and test the waters,’’ O’Reilly said.

Mayor Nigel Bowen said he was conscious that staff work 9am to 5pm already, but was willing to put the issue to debate.

However, he said there were also other options to increase the accessibility of councils, such as livestreaming.

Councillors eventually decided to park the issue until next year.

‘‘Because transparency is the key word out there, we need to open our doors and test the waters.’’ Cr Paddy O’Reilly