LANSING | The committee-of-the-whole sessions that municipal officials use each month to publicly discuss issues of concern will no longer be a regularly scheduled feature in Lansing.
No hearing was held last month, largely because the Village Board reduced its public workload to one meeting during November.
For December, there will be the two regularly scheduled Village Board meetings.
But the meeting held Tuesday that lasted all of 10 minutes did not include a committee-of-the-whole session afterward, as has been standard practice in recent months.
Nor will there be such a session next week. The next board meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at the municipal court complex, 2710 170th St.
Village Administrator J. Wynsma said the committee sessions often were counterproductive.
“There were times when they were nothing more than a second round of the Village Board, rather than true committee meetings in which issues were studied,” he said.
He said there are more efficient ways to get information about issues to the individual village trustees.
But Wynsma said the committee-of-the-whole meetings are not being abolished. He said there will be times on special occasions when it will make sense for the full board to meet as a committee to thoroughly discuss issues trustees are being asked to vote on.
“We’ll have them as we need them,” he said.
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