FAIRHOPE, Ala. — A government meeting Monday could break new ground — again — in how municipal financial operations and planning are handled in Fairhope.

If the Financial Advisory Committee meeting follows its published agenda, it could be the first time in the city’s history that a City Council-appointed advisory committee will review and offer recommendations regarding the city’s first quarter financial performance.

That has been a role typically handled by the mayor’s office, with little input or oversight from the council, according to several city officials and staff.

Until that committee was established last year, the council’s typical procedure for handling financial issues has been to receive and approve monthly and annual reports from the mayor, city treasurer and financial reporting manager with little substantive discussion.

Prior to that time, there had been some loud complaints by certain council members about how the process was handled, but they were never followed by any concrete recommendations that were ever implemented — until last year.

Changes in the process first began occurring when the FAC was established by the council in 2009, following the election of two new council members in 2008 and of Councilwoman Debbie Quinn as council president.

The FAC’s first major break from past procedures was to hold two days of budget hearings late last summer, resulting in a new process for developing the city budget.

Until that time, the mayor had presented the budget shortly before the end of the fiscal year, with little input from the council or most department heads, according to several city officials and staff.

During that new budgetary process, the FAC also decided to begin doing in-depth reviews of the city’s finances on a quarterly basis and to offer its recommendations to the council based on its analysis.

The Feb. 22 FAC meeting, which occurs prior to the council’s regular meeting that night, will be the first time that new review and recommendation procedure of the city’s quarterly finances will be implemented, if the committee follows its own agenda and does not to have to delay the process for some reason.

For those who don’t follow city government closely, such a change in how municipal finances are handled won’t cause much of a ripple.

But for those who have been keeping any eye on City Hall this past year, Monday’s meeting could signal a shift in how city government works in Fairhope, at least regarding some aspects of its financial operations and planning

The Financial Advisory Committee meets at 4:45 p.m., Monday, Feb. 22, in the Delchamps Room at the Fairhope Civic Center.