Shawville Mayor Bill McCleary put forward a resolution requesting that council vote on whether to open their plenary sessions to the public at the MRC Pontiac council of mayors meeting Feb. 21.
The plenary meetings take place a week prior to the public meetings and typically last most of the day.
McCleary said that editorials in The Equity newspaper, as well as citizens groups had long been calling for the the plenary sessions be opened to the public, and he thought it should be put to a vote. Since several mayors were absent from the meeting, he said they would be holding a vote at their next public meeting in March.
Speaking after the meeting, McCleary said that he would be voting in favour of opening the sessions, adding that “the public has a right to be bored as much as we are.”
McCleary said that the issue had already been discussed by council, and while he suspected the resolution would be voted down, he wanted a vote nonetheless.
