New time for Rehoboth commissioner meetings

Rehoboth Board of Commissioners meetings will start at 3 p.m. instead of 7 p.m., beginning Friday, Dec. 21.

The change passed unanimously during the commissioners’ Nov. 16 meeting. Commissioner workshops will remain the same – 9 a.m. on the first Monday of each month.

In back-to-back months, Rehoboth commissioners have changed the way meetings operate; in October, they approved livestreaming meetings, which was first done during a Nov. 5 commissioner workshop.

Prior to the vote, there was a brief discussion about moving commissioner meetings to 9 a.m. on the third Monday, suggested by Commissioner Pat Coluzzi who broached the subject.

“I think Mondays make more sense,” she said.

Commissioner Richard Byrne said he hadn’t heard from any constituent about changing the time of meetings. He said he finally starting asking people what they thought, and, he said, “person after person said it made no difference.”

Commissioner Toni Sharp said she had a similar response. She said she was told, “I’m not coming to meetings at 7 p.m., so I don’t care what you do.”

Commissioner and State Auditor-elect Kathy McGuiness said she didn’t think it mattered when meetings were held. Attendance at meetings is issue-driven, she said, and now that they’re being livestreamed, it’s about time management for city employees.

City Manager Sharon Lynn said the city staff is dedicated, and they’d be at the meetings whenever they were held. “They could be at 3 o’clock in the morning if you want,” she said.

A vote on the Monday change didn’t happen after Mayor Paul Kuhns and Commissioner Stan Mills were against voting on such a change Nov. 16 because it had not been part of the discussion during the commissioner workshop Nov. 5.

Kuhns said if a consensus of commissioners wanted to move the meetings to Monday, then the vote would be delayed another month to let the public have a say.