Should City Council hold more meetings? Or maybe fewer?

Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Shoemaker will ask City Council next week to review its twice-a-month-except-for-once-a-month-in-summer meeting schedule. 

"City Council has consistently met twice monthly for upwards of 25 years," Shoemaker says in a resolution to be introduced Monday by himself and Ward 1's Paul Christian.

"In 25 years since the current schedule was established, the city and the entire world has changed dramatically; and ...it is prudent for the city to review its processes to ensure they meet with the current needs of the municipality," the resolution states.

The resolution doesn't mention compensation, but the Sault's mayor and councillors are considered part-timers, receiving an honorarium instead of a salary.

They also are paid for travel and other expenses.

Last year, Mayor Provenzano's honorarium was $75,124 while councillors got $24,181.

"The role of local councillor is undeniably expanding," the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario said in a report three years ago.

"Councillors now sit on more working groups and task forces than ever before. They are also more accessible and expected to be more responsive than in the past. The growth of technology and expansion of social media allows members of the public to contact their representatives through a variety of channels at whatever time is most convenient to them. For many councillors the job has become 24/7, even if they are only compensated as a part-time employee or volunteer," the report said.

So is Shoemaker looking for more meetings, or fewer?

"It's a motion I have been considering for a few years, but not necessarily because I think the current system isn’t working," he tells SooToday.

"I simply wanted to review a practice that’s been in place at least 25 years (that’s as far back as I could confirm), to determine if what worked then still works now."

"I don’t have a preferred schedule in mind, I just think it is best to regularly review our practices to make sure they fit our current needs."

City Council will be asked Monday to direct city staff to prepare "additional options" for next year's council schedule.

The meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.