DARRYL KNIGHT The Standard
UXBRIDGE: With 2024 on the horizon, members of council were recently working to shore up their meeting schedule for next year.
At council’s meeting on the morning of Monday, November 6th, council received a report from clerk’s assistant Laura Rupprecht outlining a tentative 2024 council meeting schedule.
While the matter was largely straightforward, one potential conflict - a meeting on the morning of Remembrance Day - was spotted by Ward 4 Councillor Zed Pickering.
“We do have November 11th on there as a day for council, if I’m reading it correctly in the 2024 meeting schedule,” commented Councillor Pickering.
Ms. Rupprecht, a longtime member of the clerks department replied that it has been a standard practice in past years.
“Typically we have always met on November 11th if it falls on a Monday. We have always met on those Mondays, historically” replied Ms. Rupprecht.
However, citing the other civic responsibilities of the day, Councillor Pickering made the motion to cancel that meeting so that councillors and staff could be available to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies and events in the community.
“I’d like to remove that meeting if we can,” added Councillor Pickering. “We’ve got a lot going on in town on that day as we remember.”
There was also a slight alteration to one of the two summertime meetings carried out by council, with the July meeting moved to the 8th, instead of the 15th as it appeared in the original report. According to the report, the other summer council meeting is slated to take place on Monday, August 12th.
As with past years, the meetings will alternate weekly between council and committee meetings starting on Monday, January 8th, 2024. As Ms. Rupprecht outlined in her report, “the schedule is subject to change due to the additions of public planning meetings, special council meetings or any other additions or cancellations that may occur.”
In keeping with past practice there will be no meeting the week of March Break. There will also be no council meeting on statutory holidays that fall on a Monday, for the 2024 schedule those days are: Family Day on Febuary 19th, Easter Monday on April 1st, Victoria Day on May 20th, Labour Day on Sept. 2nd, Thanksgiving on October 14th, and following the amendment by Councillor Pickering, Remembrance Day on November 11th. The schedule will run until Monday, December 9th.
Councillors unanimously approved the 2024 schedule, including the amendment by Councillor Pickering to not hold a meeting on Remembrance Day.