For decades, Auburn City Council members met twice a month in three-member subcommittees with names like public works, finance, economic development and municipal services.

In those meetings, City leaders weighed proposed legislation related to the different aspects of City services, raked over issues, heard in-depth reports about their areas of concern from City staff.

Two years ago, however, council members switched to twice-a-month study sessions, moved by the possibility of having all council members in one room at the same time. On Monday, Deputy Mayor Largo Wales moved that the council meet in study session on Monday, Nov. 14 to talk about returning to the old system.

“I think that we would all like to have it in an open study session, discuss the pros and cons, and come up with some ideas. We’ve talked about a hybrid, using what we have learned over the past and I appreciate the opportunity for us all to attend,” Wales said.

Council members approved the motion unanimously.

On Oct. 3, reading out a litany of shortcomings of the present format, Wales noted what she saw as the study session format’s failure to provide leadership opportunities to all council members save the deputy mayor, who chairs the sessions.

“Based on years of experience on the council,” Wales said on that occasion, “there is a feeling that we have become generalists and lack specificity. Balance of presentation is lacking between our study sessions and our council meetings. The council meetings are perfunctory, short, and the study sessions are hampered by an inability to get council-requested information and have influence on agenda formation.”

And while City staff does an excellent job presenting updates related to strategic goals, Wales continued, the council is hampered in its ability to provide “policy filters” to address such concerns as economic development, human services, wellness and homelessness, among other issues.

Among the reasons given for the change: with all council members together, everybody’d learn what the buzz was at the same time.

Rich Wagner, Bill Peloza and Yolanda Trout-Manuel agreed with Wales on Oct. 3, and while Bob Baggett and Claude DaCorsi supported the present format, they said were open to “tweaking it.”