By Jim Bloch
The St. Clair City Council will deviate from its traditional meeting schedule in January 2024. Traditionally, the council holds its regular meetings on the first and third Mondays of the month. In January, the council will meet on the second and fourth Mondays of the month — Jan. 8 and Jan. 22.
The council voted unanimously to adopt the new schedule at its regular meeting Nov. 20.
“Per usual, the first and third Monday is recommended, aside from the month of January and Tuesday in September because of Labor Day,” said City Clerk Annette Sturdy, discussing the council’s annual meeting calendar, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on YouTube.
City hall is typically closed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. New Year’s Day 2024 falls on a Monday. Because New Year’s Eve is a Sunday, city hall will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 2. Tuesdays are normally when the council schedules a regular meeting following a Monday holiday.
Instead of meeting Wednesday and then again 12 days later, one of the options would be to go to (Mondays during) the second and fourth weeks, said Sturdy, noting that the month contains five Mondays.
“So we’d still be on an every-other-week sort of schedule,” Sturdy said.
Start times for the meetings remain 7 p.m.
It’s not unusual for city councils to alter their typical meeting schedules to fit their local needs. Marysville, for example, changes its meeting dates from the second and fourth Mondays of each month to a first and third schedule in December because of the holidays. Port Huron, which typically has a second and fourth Monday schedule, meets only once a month in July and August on the first Mondays. Mayor Pauline Repp canceled the council’s regular meeting Nov. 27 due to a lack of action items. Port Huron meets only once in December, on the 11th.
January 2024 will be unusual insofar as all three city councils will convene on the same days.
Council member Micah Volz asked if city offices are closed Jan. 15 for Martin Luther King Day.
“We are not,” said Sturdy.
“I think this is a great calendar,” said Volz, making the motion to adopt the schedule.
The final vote was 5-0. Mayor Cedar and council member Mitch Kuffa were absent.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
