In accordance with the city charter, this meant each decision had to have unanimous support from all three present members to pass. The later start time will allow Beier to attend regular meetings, the standard starting time of which conflicted with her class.

“I discussed this with the mayor and his suggestion was a leave, but Councilmember Draheim wasn’t happy with that setup, so I asked if she would prefer we start later,” Beier said. 

Beier said she had been putting off taking the class for two years, as it is only offered on Tuesday nights.

Now with the later start time, the council will be back to full strength by the next council meeting on Oct. 16, when Meadows will have returned.

While Draheim didn’t want to start at the later time, other council members voted via motion to approve the late start, Beier said.

The choice to delay meetings by an hour and fifteen minutes follows an Aug. 14 decision by the council to grant a leave of absence to Beier until December 31st for her late-night class. 

This late-start does not apply to discussion-only meetings or planning meetings. It will only effect regular council meetings on Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Nov. 20, Dec. 4 and Dec. 18.

Mayor Pro Tem Erik Altmann said under the council's operating procedures, members are allowed to move meeting times if necessary.

“This sort of flexibility in scheduling and allowing absences is an important thing that we have to have the ability to do, because we’re a volunteer legislature,” Altmann said. “Accommodating professional development and vacations is something that I think is important for us to be able to do.”