Council divided over moving preparatory session to the week before regular meeting

Mr. Chambers told council the short window between the prep session and the regular meeting places strain on department staff and asked the council to consider moving the prep meeting to the Tuesday the week of the regular meeting to allow staff additional time to prepare; Andres Aguirre and several councilmembers preferred keeping the prep meeting the week before the regular session to allow council more time to research and meet constituents.

"The time between a council meeting and then the time to have agenda items for this meeting is roughly 2 weeks," Mr. Chambers said, describing scheduling pressures. Andres Aguirre said he "likes the idea of having it the week before," stressing the additional time it gives council to investigate issues that arise in the prep session. Council agreed to monitor the current schedule for a few months and revisit the arrangement in December.