Politics & Government
The Tables Have Turned: City Council Changes Dais
The council now sits facing the public at meetings. Previously, they sat facing each other on two sides of a long table.
A video of the most recent New Brunswick City Council meeting shows a change in the way meetings are structured.
The council dais has been rearranged to be horizontal with the pews in council chambers, as opposed to the vertical layout that has been the norm for years.
The change is slight, but it's been a topic in council meetings for a while. Late New Brunswick resident Charles Renda was a longtime proponent for the turning of the table so the council would face the public while conducting their meetings.
After Renda's death in August 2012, resident and New Brunswick Today publisher Charlie Kratovil picked up the cause and requested for the table to be turned.
"I'm sure wherever he is, Charlie Renda is smiling, he's probably very happy about this," Kratovil said at the Nov. 6 council meeting.
City spokesman Russell Marchetta said the change came as a result of council president Rebecca Escobar taking up the idea and asking council to give it a try.
Marchetta said he was not sure if the change is permanent.
"It seemed to work OK," he said.
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