CAPE MAY – The City Council has moved the starting time of its remaining five 2025 regular meetings to 5:30 p.m. from their previous starting time of 5 p.m.

The extra 30 minutes was added to accommodate council member Shane Meier, who according to Mayor Zach Mullock has taken a new position that no longer allows him to make a 5 p.m. start time.

This year the Herald has written about actions that governing bodies could take to increase their meeting accessibility to residents and thereby improve local government transparency. One of those actions was to hold meetings when members of the public who hold daytime jobs would be able to attend. In one instance, Stone Harbor, the governing body changed its meeting time to 5 p.m. to accommodate those with daytime jobs.

Recently a Sea Isle City resident wished to speak to that city’s council about an issue of importance to her. She did so, adding that she was required to leave her job in order to be at the Sea Isle meeting. That council meets at 10 a.m. on two Tuesdays a month.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.