They're not going to cover this in an hour

Here is the agenda for tomorrow's City Council Workshop:

 DS-1 Receive a Briefing from the Fort Hood Garrison Commander’s Office Regarding Services and Operations
DS-2 Receive an Operations Briefing from Bell County Water Control and Improvement District #1
DS-3 Discuss City Council Agenda Items and Land Use Cases
DS-4 Receive a Briefing on the Budget Process to Date and Discuss Council Priorities
DS-5 Receive a Briefing from the City Manager Negotiating Committee on the status of negotiations. 

Whoever set this agenda was certainly optimistic.  I don't see a single item that can be covered well in 12 minutes, and apparently each of them is supposed to be.

The key items are DS-3, DS-4 and DS-5.  DS-1 and DS-2 involve guest speakers; these items will go first.  They have to do DS-3 before the regular council meeting; otherwise it would be irrelevant.  That means that DS-4 and DS-5 will take place sometime after the council meeting, around 1930 if things go as they have been, when there will be few people left in the audience.

I'm sure the mayor and the council would join me in asking everyone to attend these discussions.  Council budget priorities and the status of city manager contract negotiations are important and should be carried on in front of a strong audience.  I do think it's a mistake to schedule them in such a way that they either will be curtailed or conducted late in the evening.