Pasadena's City Council moved a step closer to holding its regular meetings on Tuesdays instead of Mondays, advancing an ordinance at its Tuesday, Sept. 1 meeting.

The council took the first reading of the proposed change, which would amend two sections of the Municipal Code. The ordinance still needs a second reading before it can take effect. No second-reading date has been announced.

The move follows an Aug. 17 vote to draft the ordinance and schedule two trial Tuesday sessions. Those trial meetings are set for Sept. 15 and Sept. 29, replacing the regularly scheduled Monday meetings on Sept. 14 and Sept. 28.

City Clerk Mark Jomsky and Acting City Manager Matthew Hawkesworth determined Tuesdays would be the least disruptive alternative to Mondays, according to Pasadena Now. The shift would give council members an extra workday after Thursday agenda packets to review materials, meet with stakeholders and gather public input.

The change would ripple through city government. Ten commissions, boards and committees currently meet on Tuesdays, including the Recreation and Parks Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Design Commission, Environmental Advisory Commission, Human Relations Commission, Senior Commission and Northwest Commission. Those bodies could pick a different day, but any that use Council Chambers would have to move.

The Finance Committee, which generally meets before the council, will hold a special meeting on Sept. 15 to accommodate the trial. The Economic Development and Technology Committee's regular Sept. 15 meeting is expected to be rescheduled. No committee conflicts are anticipated for the Sept. 29 session.

Staff is also proposing a closed-session-only council meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. If Tuesday meetings become permanent, similar closed-session-only meetings could be scheduled roughly once a month on Tuesdays following holiday Mondays, covering labor negotiations, real estate deals and employee evaluations.

Councilmember Rick Cole, who made the motion to prepare the ordinance on Aug. 17, said at that meeting that the switch avoids collisions with national holidays and gives staff and council members an extra workday to prepare. "We don't collide with national holidays," Cole said. He added that Tuesday meetings would provide "the opportunity for a work day besides Friday when often every other Friday the staff is in theory not working."

Councilmembers Tyron Hampton and Steve Madison were absent from the Aug. 17 meeting. Both will have the chance to weigh in before the ordinance is adopted. Their positions on the change have not been recorded in public meetings.

According to the staff report, the change carries no fiscal impact and would not affect the public's ability to attend meetings. The City of Pasadena encouraged residents on X on Aug. 27 to attend council meetings on the new night.

The next trial Tuesday meeting is Sept. 15.