Monday nights could be on their way out for the Pasadena City Council.
The City Council on Monday will consider temporarily moving its two September meetings from Mondays to Tuesdays as a test of whether the city’s elected officials should permanently change the night they conduct city business.
Under the proposal, meetings scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14, and Monday, Sept. 28, would instead be held as special meetings on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Tuesday, Sept. 29.
According to a city staff report, councilmembers have expressed challenges with holding regular meetings on Monday evenings. Interim City Manager Matthew Hawkesworth and City Clerk Mark Jomsky are recommending the September experiment before the council considers a permanent schedule change.
Pasadena’s Municipal Code currently requires regular City Council meetings to be held Mondays at 5 p.m. at City Hall. A permanent change in the meeting day would require an ordinance.
The council has not always met on Mondays. Regular meetings were moved from Tuesdays to Mondays in 1994. Meeting locations also changed from 2004 to 2007 during the City Hall retrofit project, when the council met at the Pasadena Senior Center.
September offers an opportunity to test Tuesdays because the council is already expected to have a shortened schedule. The Sept. 7 meeting is canceled for Labor Day, while the Sept. 21 meeting is proposed for cancellation in recognition of Yom Kippur.
City officials said Tuesday was chosen because it would allow agendas and supporting materials to continue being posted the preceding Thursday while giving councilmembers an additional workday to review documents, meet with stakeholders, gather public input and seek information from city staff.
Officials also considered Wednesdays and Thursdays but determined those days would create complications with agenda posting deadlines or reduce the amount of time available for officials and the public to review meeting materials.
A Sept. 15 meeting could conflict with the Economic Development and Technology Committee, which is scheduled to meet that day. That meeting could be rescheduled or canceled.
If the council supports the trial schedule, city staff would notify the public about the September changes.
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