Mayor Chuck Reed’s efforts to make government more open and transparent have had an unexpected side effect—he’s also made it more boring. Even some councilmembers say that under his rule the council meetings have become painfully long, with discussion and debate carrying on for hours. At a recent hearing (which lasted more than four hours—and that was just the daytime hearing) one City Hall gadfly chided the council for losing focus and allowing the debate over a land-use item to drift off-topic. “Stay focused and you will save time on these lengthy meetings,” he said.  Reed staffers said it’s true that the mayor’s sunshine reforms and open government mean lengthier dialogue and discussion, which then leads to longer meetings. And guess what? It’s only going to get worse. The mayor is predicting the meetings will get longer come June, when the council is scheduled to discuss the city’s budget. “That’s just the way things work,” said Michelle McGurk, Reed’s press secretary. “May and June are busy, as are November and December. I remember some very long meetings back in the day.” The council has already made some attempts at streamlining the meetings where they can. Earlier this year, a council committee suggested to the group that they cut back on the amount of time they spend on presentations, awards and ceremonies, which can take up a good chunk of time at the start of each meeting. Now, the council is limited to five presentations in the afternoon meetings and three in the evening. “We wanted to see what we could do to shorten these meetings,” said Pete Furman, Reed’s chief of staff. So far, council staffers say it’s helped move things along, slowly but surely. Where’s a hunger striker when you need one to liven things up?