How to Address the City Council

Communicating with the City Council

The City Council is very interested in the concerns of its constituents and welcomes the public’s input on any issue facing our community.  Residents are encouraged to share their questions, comments, and concerns with the City Council at any time.  The public is welcome to contact Councilmembers by email, phone, written correspondence, or in face-to-face exchanges.  For your convenience, contact information for each individual Councilmember is provided on the City Council landing page.  You may also email the City Council as a group at [email protected].  Additionally, you may contact the City Manager or any City staff member in writing and ask that your correspondence be shared with the Council.

Public Input at City Council Meetings

In order to provide for an effective, orderly airing of opinions, certain rules have been adopted by the Council on how citizens may make their views known at public meetings. A summary of those procedures is outlined below, and detailed in Chapter 2 of the City’s Municipal Code.

Commenting on a Specific Agenda Item
During Council meetings, as each Council Bill or study session topic is discussed, the Presiding Officer (generally the Mayor) will provide an opportunity for members of the audience to provide comments to Council regarding the topic being discussed.  Those wishing to comment should follow the following procedure:

• When public participation is called for, approach the podium at the front of the room.
• State your name and city of residence for the record.
• Address your comments to the Council as a whole; not to individual Councilmembers.
• Your remarks must pertain to the agenda item currently being discussed.
• Limit your remarks to five (5) minutes or less.
• You are allowed to provide comments but not to ask questions or try to establish a dialogue with Councilmembers. If you wish to engage in a conversation with Council or staff, you are encouraged to do so outside of the Council meeting.

Audience Participation
Towards the end of every Council meeting, the Presiding Officer (generally the Mayor) will call for audience participation.  This is the time when the audience can address the Council about any topic.  The procedure is the same as outlined above.

Commenting at a Public Hearing
The purpose of a Public Hearing is to seek formal input as required by City Ordinance or State Statute on certain issues (i.e. annexations agreements, budget, enterprise zones, tax increment districts, etc.). During the Public Hearing, the Presiding Officer (generally the Mayor) will call for public comment on the issue under consideration. Those wishing to address the Council should follow the same procedure outlined above except the time limit is extended to 20 minutes.

Disrupting Meetings
No person shall interrupt, disturb, or disrupt any meeting of the City Council. Upon direction of the Presiding Officer, any person determined to be disrupting the meeting shall leave the Council Chambers and the City Building.