COMPTON—The Compton City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance on Tuesday, Dec. 6, that could change the start times of its meetings.

Councilpersons Willie Jones, Yvonne Arceneaux and Janna Zurita voted in favor of the ordinance. Mayor Eric J. Perrodin and Councilwoman Lillie Dobson voted no.

On Sept. 28, 2010, the City Council revised the scheduled start time of all regular meetings to a fixed time of 5:45 p.m. for every regular meeting. The proposed change offers residents a more convenient time to attend Council meetings.

The new meeting hours will be at 3 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, and 5 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday.

“We compromised when we took an hour and a half from the night meeting and made it earlier, and took the same amount of time from the day meeting and made it later” Perrodin said. “If we are going to be consistent, we should go back to the regular time.”

The meetings used to alternate between 3:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. each month.

“I asked for this agenda item,” Zurita said. “ The average person cannot sit at a Council meeting this late, and go to work the next morning. Employees start work early, and end up staying very late on meeting nights.”

Perrodin called into question the city employees in attendance and whether or not the time change benefits residents.

“ This cheats our taxpayers,” he said. “Employees are going to miss work because they are watching us. Residents deserve a full day’s work from city staff. They pay their salaries. Most people work from nine to five. If we want to have the most amount of participation from our residents, the meetings should start after people are finished working. This idea was not thought out entirely, but if that is what the Council wants, so be it.”

Perrodin said he would try to accommodate the change, but he can only leave work when the judge or his supervisor allows him to go.

“We still have to approve this on the second reading for this to go in effect,” Arceneaux said. “If a lot of people complain, we should consider their input. “

If approved on the second reading, the changes will go into effect on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

To offer feedback about the new meeting times, call the city at 310- 605-5500.