Town councillors in Port Hawkesbury say they’re considering the idea of giving more power to their Committee of the Whole.
Councillors motioned for the ability to vote on minor issues at COW- instead of regular council- during January’s regular town council meeting Tuesday night.
Staff members said it wouldn’t be possible without changing what the committee is.
Councillors voted to continue discussion at their next committee meeting to either start the process of creating policy to allow votes at the COW, or to change the monthly meeting into a second regular council meeting.
After the meeting, Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, the mayor of Port Hawkesbury, said she doesn’t want to lose the COW.
“My hope is that we don’t lose that essential function of Committee of the Whole, because that really keeps our whole council grounded,” she said. “Maybe we can come up with some kind of a compromise so that we can still continue to information share via committee of the whole.”
Chisholm-Beaton said she does understand the urge to be able to resolve small issues quickly.
