City Council in summer session until September

By ARTIE KRONENFELD

If you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen City Council coverage for a few weeks, there’s a simple reason: Waltham’s City Council hasn’t been meeting on its regular schedule since June 23.

The city’s bylaws established the summer session schedule: City Council meets twice a month except during July and August. The council’s standing committees meet biweekly on alternate weeks September through June but are similarly on pause for the summer months. Regular City Council meetings will resume on Sept. 8.

City Council traditionally sets a special meeting during summer break to tackle business that has been submitted to the council since June. This year’s special meeting is on Aug. 4.

According to Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan, most, if not all of the business the council will address at the Aug. 4 meeting will be items brought forward by the mayor. 

The Aug. 4 meeting will start with a regular City Council session, refer business to specific committees, break apart to meet in committees and then reconvene with the whole council. 

City Clerk Joe Vizard said he expects the council will cover applications, grants of location and similar pieces of business. 

Part of the reason for the summer break, Logan said in an email to The Waltham Times, is logistical. It’s difficult to schedule City Council meetings in the summer because many councilors go on vacation during July and August. 

However, Logan said councilors still handle official duties during the summer, noting that they keep busy “handling constituent issues, doing research, following up with Department Heads about projects in our Wards, etc.” 

Vizard said he has observed that councilors tend to focus more on constituent events during the summer. 

If the city encounters urgent issues, the City Council can call special meetings. For example, the City Council held a special meeting on July 16 to ensure federal compliance in Waltham’s flood maps.

Some of Waltham’s neighbors employ similar practices. The cities of Watertown and Newton both cut down on city council meetings during July and August, meeting once a month instead of twice a month. 

Newton also suspends council committee meetings in July and August and instead lets each committee determine whether and when to meet. 

Other Waltham boards also take a break for the summer. The Traffic Commission, for example, doesn’t meet during July and August, and the School Committee has only one regular meeting scheduled per month during July and August, instead of the two monthly meetings it usually has during the school year.