Anaheim : Council Votes to Meet at Night Once a Month

Prompted by complaints that the City Council’s afternoon meetings are inconvenient for many residents, the council will holding night meetings once a month on a trial basis.

Beginning Nov. 3, the night meetings will be held the first Tuesday of the month. The city’s Redevelopment Agency and Housing Authority, both composed of members of the City Council, will begin the public portion of the meeting at 6:30 p.m., with public hearings set to begin at 8 p.m.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday for the plan, despite warnings from one council member that the meetings might extend past midnight and invite less, rather than more, participation.

“There is greater participation as a general rule at daytime council meetings,” said Mayor Pro Tem Miriam Kaywood, who has served more than 13 years on the council. “If we start at 7 p.m. we could still be here at 7 a.m., and the public is not going to hang through that. I would not want to be on the other side of a decision made when everyone is very tired.”

But Councilman Irv Pickler argued that working people should be given “an opportunity to be here, to sit through the whole process.”