Your city council members are both policymakers and service providers. They parse budgets with a fine-tooth comb, set priorities for the city’s workforce and infrastructure, raise and spend city dollars, and decide how to fund the things that make your city work. They also oversee municipal government agencies, set rates for income, sales and property taxes, and hold public hearings to hear from residents on important issues.
Your council is composed of fifteen members, twelve elected from single-member districts and three elected at-large. The council president presides over all meetings and votes in the case of a tie. Members serve four-year terms.
Legislation comes in two forms — ordinances and resolutions. An ordinance is an official act of the council that establishes permanent rules and has the force of law. The council must read the full text of an ordinance at two regular meetings before it can be passed. A resolution expresses the council’s intent or support for various projects and enterprises or establishes legislative policy of a general nature. The council may pass a resolution by majority vote at one meeting.
The council may create permanent or ad hoc mechanisms to assist in the making of municipal policy, such as planning and recreation boards, study committees, and advisory commissions. It may also create quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial bodies, such as a human rights commission or zoning appeals board. The council is governed by its charter and state laws concerning open meetings, which include standard protections for public participation.
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