As the Auburn City Council ponders changing the time of its summer meetings, its members need to seriously consider not only the message such a move would send but the negative impact it might have.

A resolution to be voted on Thursday would change the council's meeting time from 6 p.m. to 4 p.m. between June 26 and Aug. 28.

Councilor Matthew Smith rightly points out that, while the move would be more convenient for him personally, it goes against the premise of good government by making things easier for the government rather than for the constituency.

Councilor Thomas McNabb, a member of the council that in 2005 changed its summer meetings to 9 a.m., made the outrageous argument that the meeting times were somewhat unimportant because not many people attend anyway.

“We're never overcrowded at the meetings,” he said.

This isn't an issue of attendance, it's about accessibility.

Regardless of how many people choose to attend, holding business meetings when most city residents are still at work makes it impossible for many to make that choice.

As it stands, the 6 p.m. meetings came about only as a compromise. The council had been meeting at 5 p.m. until Smith came aboard in 2006 and argued for a 7 p.m. start time.

“Summer hours” only benefit city workers and elected officials, and implementing them sends a clear message that those people don't care too much about the people they work for.

Meeting at 4 p.m. might be more convenient for the members of the council, but the people deserve to have the council accessible to them at a time of day that makes sense.

City residents with important issues to discuss should be able to speak to city representatives about it regardless of the time of year.