The Ripon City Council meetings will continue to operate on a once-a-month schedule.
Elected leaders have been pleased with the overall efficiency it takes to conduct the public sessions at last week’s meeting.
“The purpose of going from two to one meeting a month was to allow more time for staff to conduct day to day business rather than use many hours in preparing for (two) meetings,” City Administrator Kevin Werner said.
Council approved the change in meeting schedule back in May with the caveat of evaluating if one meeting a month is working.
“It is working,” Councilman Mike Restuccia said. “And if there’s a need, we can and have called for a special meeting.”
He and his colleagues approved the monthly meeting schedule, 4-0 (Leo Zuber was absent).
Staff, incidentally, had been spending about one week from an already busy schedule to prepare for the two regular sessions per month prior to the change.
The other change in the meeting schedule called for moving up the start time of the public session, from 7 p.m. to 6 o’clock.
When the change was being bandied about, Council discussed the pros and cons of the meeting schedule.
Once a month meetings – outside of overworking staff – meant less access for the public to attend but longer sessions.
The benefits of the two meetings per month schedule allowed for additional public access and shorter sessions. Staff also had the luxury of scheduling workshops on the same nights of the regular meetings.