Lodi city council nixing shirtsleeve meetings
Apr. 5—By May, the Lodi City Council Tuesday morning shirtsleeve sessions will be a thing of the past.
During its regular Wednesday night meeting, the council unanimously approved amending the Lodi Municipal Code to discontinue shirtsleeves, but leaving time available during the week for special meetings as needed.
Lodi City Clerk Olivia Nashed will return to a future meeting in May with an updated ordinance the council must approve before the shirtsleeves are officially discontinued.
Nashed told the council a specific day and time for these new special meetings will not be a requirement in the new ordinance, but the council agreed to hold 4 p.m. meetings on Tuesday afternoons for the time being.
The council typically discusses aspects of the upcoming fiscal year's budget during shirtsleeve meetings this time of year, and now those discussions will be held in the afternoon.
The idea to move the meetings to the afternoon was suggested by Vice Mayor Cameron Bregman, who said many residents in Lodi are unable to attend the 7 a.m. sessions due to other commitments.
He initially suggested a 5:30 p.m. time slot either every Tuesday, or during alternate weeks when city council meetings aren't held.
"I think we would be able to reach more individuals," he said. "A lot of people can't make it at 7 a.m. on a weekday. We have a lot of working class individuals in Lodi."
The council has historically held shirtsleeves every Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. to allow in-depth, educational discussions on topics that may be presented at a regular meeting in the future.
The council is not able to take formal action or give formal direction at the shirtsleeves, but the time slot has been used to hold special meetings when more immediate action of the council is necessary.
While some discussions presented on Tuesday mornings could be undertaken at regular meetings, staff said doing so could increase the amount of time spent at Carnegie Forum on Wednesday nights.
Staff estimated that adding shirtsleeve session topics could potentially add as much as 90 minutes to a regular meeting, depending on what is discussed and how many members of the audience want to speak during public comment.
Public attendance at shirtsleeves has been low, staff said, unless a specific topic of interest for certain community members is discussed.
Staff, as well as council members, noted Wednesday night that the last five shirtsleeve sessions have been canceled, either due to lack of topics to discuss, or due to council members unable to attend.
It was Mayor Lisa Craig who suggested discontinuing the sessions altogether Wednesday night, and instead holding special meetings for topics that do not require approval on an as needed basis.
"The whole point of this is to get get some engagement, particularly when we get around budget discussions and we're talking about other issues of concern to the community, and we want to give (individuals) time to participate," she said. And frankly, 7 a.m. isn't working for most people."
While the council agreed to begin holding special meetings on Tuesday afternoons, the could be moved to 7 a.m. for the time being, depending on scheduling conflicts.
