It91裸聊视频檚 an ongoing joke in many communities that council meetings can run a bit longer than expected - sometimes lasting hours into the evening.

Ironically, one B.C. municipality has taken the time to debate the matter.

North Saanich Coun. Celia Stock raised a motion recently, seeking to limit the amount of councilor discussion that takes place on any given issue 91裸聊视频� in an attempt to speed up their meetings.

She said she wanted meetings run in a more effective and efficient manner and pointed to neighbouring councils in Central Saanich and Sidney that put time limits on how long a politician can debate a point.

91裸聊视频淎ll of us have had this 91裸聊视频� on the radar since last fall,91裸聊视频� Stock said. 91裸聊视频淲e do often tend to have meetings that last (up to) four-and-a-half hours.91裸聊视频�

In Sidney91裸聊视频檚 example, she continued, there91裸聊视频檚 a procedural bylaw in place that keeps debate per councilor to five minutes on each subject.

91裸聊视频淎nd then they are not allowed to keep on speaking,91裸聊视频� she said.

Central Saanich91裸聊视频檚 limit, she continued, is 10 minutes and the limit among Capital Regional District directors is 15 minutes. Stock said having similar limits in North Saanich could prevent meetings from going beyond 10:30 p.m. and 91裸聊视频渘ot subjecting staff91裸聊视频� to long sessions of council.

It was clear, however, that other councillors have been timing each other and, instead of imposing limits, a majority suggested other means of keeping the meetings more succinct.

Coun. Heather Gartshore said their meetings vary from two-and-a-half hours to those longer ones Stock mentioned. However, Gartshore said the longer ones are rare 91裸聊视频� despite the three long ones council had in January.

91裸聊视频淚 feel this notice is born of frustration,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 feel as if this is trying to kill a fly with a sledgehammer.91裸聊视频�

Gartshore wondered how it would be enforced, such as having staff with stopwatches.

She added she feels meeting length is related to agenda size, saying if North Saanich council met more frequently and didn91裸聊视频檛 break in the summer, the meetings could be quicker.

Gartshore also said if councillors come prepared and ready to go, meetings may also pick up.

91裸聊视频淢y observation is that doesn91裸聊视频檛 always happen.91裸聊视频�

Coun. Geoff Orr noted with humour that Gartshore herself spoke seven minutes on the issue, but basically agreed with her. Her said he doesn91裸聊视频檛 feel he has to apologize for asking questions to reach the decisions he needs to reach.

Coun. Jack Thornburgh added he saw Stock91裸聊视频檚 motion as 91裸聊视频榓spirational91裸聊视频�, rather than prescriptive. If councillors exercise self-discipline, he continued, there wouldn91裸聊视频檛 be a need for time limits.

In the end, Stock91裸聊视频檚 motion was defeated in a 5-2 vote (Stock and Mayor Alice Finall voted for it).

The entire debate took approximately 36 minutes.

editor@peninsulanewsreview.com
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