With the exception of the occasional fifth week within the same month, Auburn city councilors conduct public meetings once per week.

It's a duty that the city's charter requires them to fulfill, and it makes good sense. A city government, with the array of services it provides and the taxes it collects to pay for those services, should require its top elected officials to convene with reasonable frequency.

But this particular city council has decided that part of the job can be set aside for the sake of their own convenience. The council has decided to cancel its regular meeting this week because more than one of them are going to be out-of-town.

That decision is an insult to the people who put these councilors into office.

First and foremost, the charter requires a weekly meeting. It doesn't have language allowing for meetings to be canceled because of vacations. It doesn't allow exceptions during school spring or winter breaks.

We have a hard time believing that three of the five members of this council - the number needed to establish a quorum - will not be in town at the same time one day this week.

And if it is the case that the majority of council is unavailable for seven straight days, there's still cause for concern. What happens if there's a need for an emergency council meeting?

We're not saying that city councilors forfeit their rights to go on vacation or miss an occasional meeting because of personal conflicts. As long as such instances are rare, there's no real harm.

But any council as a whole should be working together to ensure that enough of them will be in town to hold a weekly meeting.

It's not an outlandish concept or an unreasonable burden. It's merely a minimal standard for good government.