MONTEGO Bay mayor Hugh Solomon is now reshuffling the members of the committees that make up the St James Parish Council.

“I would not say that (they are now inefficient), but what I would say is that there can be more substance coming out of the committee meetings. And it all depends on the attitude of the chairperson,” he told the Observer Thursday.

The new committee members will be announced on or before the Council meeting in March as Solomon has not ruled out the completion of the reshuffle in time for next month’s meeting.

According to him, the reshuffle is a part of his long-term goal of providing all the councillors with the opportunity to learn about all aspects of the council’s functions.

“Since I took office in 1998, I’ve always given the councillors an opportunity to chair different committees so that they will be exposed to, and have experience with, the operations of council,” he said. “It has now reached a stage where another shuffling is expected and that will be done very shortly.”

The reshuffle comes at a time when there are many changes taking place at the Council. The island’s first City Council was recently established in Montego Bay and will be expected to become the action centre for the city. At the first meeting, Local Government Minister Arnold Bertram warned members not to imitate the committee- based structure of the local parish councils but to implement decisions swiftly, as one body.

On Thursday, Solomon agreed that this would be a wise approach, and charged that it would be left to the committees to move operations along and prevent the City Council from becoming tied up in red tape.

“The City Council will be more of an action committee within the council and I would not want them to be bogged down with the day to day activities like the council but for them to be able to go out there and perform in enhancing the city,” he said.