St. Charles city officials say they’re cutting bureaucratic red tape in hopes of streamlining the city meeting structure.

City officials say the change will make it easier for residents to track programs, projects and initiatives, resulting in “greater transparency and public engagement.”

Under the changes, three separate committees that currently hold their public meetings on separate nights will be rolled into one Committee of the Whole meeting following each City Council meeting.

In a mixed vote Jan. 5, the Council agreed to combine the planning and development, government operations and government services committees into a Committee of the Whole.

The move was opposed by three Council members: David Pietryla, Bryan Wirball and Ronald Silkaitis.

Pietryla said: “I just don’t think we need to change the structure of our government.”

Others had concerns about ensuring the public still gets enough time to comment on agenda items.

City Administrator Heather McGuire said that with the changes, the public has a chance to speak three times during City Council nights. There will be one public comment period prior to the Committee of the Whole meeting for agenda-related items and one at the end of the meeting for general topics. There is also a public comment period at the end of each City Council meeting.

City officials said consolidating committees to streamline agenda development helps advance the city’s strategic goal of evaluating and refining public meeting structures “to promote stronger communication among staff, elected officials, and the public.”

Because the planning and development and the government services committees will now meet twice per month instead of only once, city officials said there will be reduced delays and improvements to the overall review process.

The role of committee chair will rotate among alderpersons each month. The mayor will not be a part of the Committee of the Whole.

McGuire said the agendas can be set by the city staff at the direction of the city administrator. The mayor or four C ouncil members can request added items to the agenda.

All of the city’s 10 alderpersons attend and vote on agenda items for each of the three current standing committees. The change will not affect the voting structure.

The new changes will also not affect the meeting schedules or structures for the remaining 22 city board, commissions and task force groups.

The approved changes take effect Feb. 2. The Committee of the Whole will meet immediately following each 7 p.m. City Council meeting on the first and third Mondays of each month.

Meetings are open to the public at the St. Charles Municipal Building and also broadcast on Zoom and posted on the city’s YouTube channel.