I say that not because I care personally about whether Wagga's council meetings open with a prayer, affirmation, oath, reflection or a carefully choreographed song and dance routine.

Let's be real, however the councillors choose to open their meetings is not going to impact on their decision-making (although the song and dance routine would be pretty cool!).

I say it because a council must respect the feedback it has received during the public consultation period, otherwise what is the point of even inviting comment?

The council's draft Code of Meeting Practice document attracted 280 submissions, with some 275 - or 98 per cent - of those strongly against the suggestion to scrap the prayer.

I have sneaky suspicion that all the draft Code of Meeting Practice documents in Wagga Wagga City Council's history wouldn't have attracted anywhere near that level of feedback.

In fact, if it wasn't for the publicity this proposal has received in The Daily Advertiser in recent weeks, no one would even know this issue was on the table.

Of course, those in favour of the change can argue that 275 people out of a population of 65,000 people isn't representative either.

They can say - without a skerrick of proof - that there was a silent majority out there too scared at being labelled anti-Christian to make their feelings known.

But the reality is, the people have spoken and they have spoken in favour of retaining the prayer.

This is not a situation where the council is shackled by law to make a decision, such as approving an unpopular but legally compliant development application.

The prayer urges councillors to be "guided by wisdom". The only wise decision to be made here is to retain the prayer.

All the best for the week ahead, Ross.