Council members will again consider moving the day of council meetings from Monday to Tuesday, a change that could have consequences for how news is covered in St. Albert.
The decision is upcoming at an organizational meeting which council holds annually to approve items such as committee appointments and the deputy mayor schedule. This year, the meeting falls immediately before the regular council meeting on October 24.
Last year, council also considered a change to the day meetings take place, but ultimately voted unanimously to continue meeting on Mondays and keep the 2 p.m. start time.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said he was “taken aback” to hear the decision will come before council again.
“I’m not sure what the imperative is,” Brodhead said. “We explored that last year and we understood the implications.”
He noted holding the meeting on Monday gives time for The Gazette to report on what happens and give “relevant and timely info” about council meetings to residents.
The Gazette’s press deadline for the Wednesday paper is Tuesday afternoon, meaning decisions happening on a Tuesday meeting would likely have to be included in the paper the following week.
“Who wants to read something that’s a week old?” Brodhead said, adding that he will be interested to hear the rationale behind the change during the organizational meeting.
Brian Bachynski, the publisher of The St. Albert Gazette, said the news coverage in St. Albert would be “severely hampered” should the council date change.
“It’s about the public and our ability to inform them in a timely manner,” Bachynski said, “Citizens deserve that, and if it becomes humanly impossible to do so … then we start doing a disservice to our readers, and that has a negative impact on democracy.”
While Bachynski said The Gazette always has the option to post articles online, he noted the city’s 2021 Community Satisfaction Survey shows the print paper is by far the preferred information channel for residents.
Sixty-three per cent of respondents indicated they prefer to receive city information in the paper (the highest ranked of all information channels), while only 18 per cent said they prefer to receive this information on The Gazette’s website, https://stalberttoday.ca
Bachynski said it may not be possible to move The Gazette’s publication date to allow for more coverage of council meetings.
This is due to several factors, he said, including the schedule of other papers The Gazette’s press prints, such as the Edmonton Journal. Adding another paper printing on a day that’s already full might mean paying out overtime or hiring another crew altogether.
Advertisement revenue may also be at stake, as many businesses advertise on Wednesday for Thursday and Friday sales, Bachynski said.
Flyers also arrive at The Gazette on Monday and Tuesday to be inserted for Wednesday’s paper, and as Canada-wide distributors may face logistical issues in changing their schedule. Couriers that send out The Gazette would also have to change their schedule.
Moving to another day such as Thursday would mean the roughly 4,000 papers (out of a circulation of some 28,000) mailed out to readers through Canada Post would not arrive until Monday the following week, due to the mail carrier’s timelines.
Wednesday papers mailed out through Canada Post typically arrive on Friday at the latest, Bachynski said.
Bachynski said he hopes council will ultimately decide against the switch to Tuesday, adding releasing the agenda for both the public and councillors on Thursday could give all parties more time to prepare in advance of meetings.
“Monday council meetings have been going on for a long time and it’s worked well,” Bachynski said. “We’ve been able to turn that news around for Wednesday publication and that’s what matters to me.”
Meeting change gives more time: Mayor Heron
Mayor Cathy Heron noted there are pros and cons to the change, but said one pro could be that councillors have more time to ask city administration about the council agenda.
While the city releases the council agenda to the public on Friday at 3 p.m., council members typically receive the agenda beforehand. Heron said the head start often only means council members receive the agenda earlier on Friday.
“Council would have an extra day to prepare and weekends wouldn’t be taken up, they’re their own personal time, and the staff would have more time to address concerns and not feel rushed,” Heron said.
“Having input before we make the decisions is definitely my priority,” Coun. Natalie Joly said, noting that this means ensuring the council agenda comes out far enough in advance of meetings.
“If we as a city need to do a better job of communicating decisions once they’ve been made, then we need to put effort into that,” Joly said.
“I’ve yet to see the benefit,” Coun. Sheena Hughes said about a switch to Tuesday meetings. “We have had it on Mondays forever … everything is set up to work for a Monday meeting.”
Coun. Shelley Biermanski said she isn’t partial to a particular day for council meetings, as long as there is enough time for councillors to review the agenda packet before meetings.
With council often receiving agendas on Friday, she said the head start often isn’t enough time, as staff is then away over the weekend and unable to answer questions.
Coun. Ken MacKay said he sees some benefits to the change, as moving the meeting to Tuesday could give city administration more time to have internal meetings about how to present information to council.
If the meeting is moved to Tuesday, however, MacKay said his preference would be to hold it at 9:30 a.m. instead of 2 p.m.
While earlier start times might have presented challenges for people to attend and present at council meetings, MacKay said the uptake in virtual attendance resulting from the pandemic has changed that.
“Technology has solved some of the barriers,” he said, though noted he still hasn’t made up his mind on whether a morning meeting would ultimately be better.
The Gazette reached out to the city’s chief administrative officer, Bill Fletcher, and Coun. Mike Killick, but did not hear back at press time.
