City Council Meetings 101
NEW SSP Feature for 2024!
If you've ever attended a city council meeting, you may have found that some things seem to happen at breakneck speed - and you leave not really knowing what just occurred. It's important that residents who want a say in how their local government and city are run be empowered to participate.
So, in that vein, we're introducing the Public Policy Corner, where former Stow City Councilman At-Large David Licate will explain the processes and procedures that govern how our local governing bodies function.
City Council Meetings 101
A Constituents Primer on What to Expect When Attending a Meeting
You've decided to attend your first city council meeting!
You've just joined a very small club of citizens in your city who have attended this legislative proceeding on the second and fourth Thursday of each month.
A few more citizens, most of whom are employed by the city, will watch the meeting as it is streamed or view the recording later. Perhaps you have a complaint about city services, you are seeking a variance for your business, or your child is being recognized for an accomplishment by the mayor. In any case, it is likely that you will be confused by what you see and hear when you enter council chambers. I’m here to help with that.
Don't Worry, You're Not Late
If you were told to show up for the city council meeting at 7:00 p.m. and arrive a few minutes early, you may notice that the meeting is already in session. You are not late! What you are likely to witness is a committee meeting being held before the city council meeting. City council members and city officials may be speaking rapidly and using terms you do not understand. You may hear the banging of a gavel as one committee ends and the next begins. What is going on?
First, let’s set the scene. As you enter the council chambers in Stow City Hall, you will notice a dais just to your left on the West wall where city staff are sitting. A similar dais is set up across chambers near the East wall. The long main dais where the council members and other elected officials sit runs along the North wall of the chamber. Chairs for audience members are arranged in rows in front of the main dais with a microphone for people to address the council between the first row of seats in the center aisle, facing the main dais. Large screens may drop from both the North and South side of the chamber so that the audience and officials may see presentations.
Although this setup – a long table with elected officials, flanked by staff, and facing an audience - has been common for many years, it is not the most efficient arrangement for discussion. One may even question the appropriate use of the term “audience” to describe people who attend a council meeting. The seating arrangement indicates that audience is an appropriate term – meaning a group of people intent on being entertained – since council members and staff face the people instead of each other. Does this setup, more conducive to theater, encourage grandstanding and discourage discussion and collaboration?
In any case, you would be hard pressed to find any work group in another field choosing to be arranged like this with the hope of getting work done. Consequently, there are a few other arrangements being used in governing chambers – most of which place seats in a circle or semi-circle with the “audience” outside of the ring (the podium is inside the ring, so those addressing the body may be seen and hear more effectively).
The seven city council members, one for each ward and three at-large (cover the entire city), will be seated at the main dais with the council president and council clerk seated in the middle. Elected city officials, including the mayor, law director, finance director, services director, city engineer, or their representatives, will sit with council at the main dais. The police chief, fire chief, planning director, other staff and guests presenting to the council will occupy the side daises. Each official will have a nameplate identifying their role, and often business cards to contact them later.
The seating is to indicate that city administration, staff, and elected officials are co-equals at the table, although only the elected city council members will be acting at the meeting. City staff and administrators act in an advisory capacity to the legislators who are conducting the meeting. Although most citizens see local government as one unified entity, like other levels of government, it is broken into legislative, executive, and judicial branches that operate independently of one another. The city council meeting is a legislative process, but members of the administration – the executive branch – act in an advisory capacity (on occasion, someone from the judicial branch – the Stow Municipal Courts – may appear).
The Skinny on Committee Meetings
But back to the action! You were told 7:00 p.m. What is going on? In Stow, standing committees of council usually begin at 5:30 p.m. Occasionally, if agendas are full, meetings can begin at 5:00 p.m. It should be noted that not all city councils have their council committee meetings on the same night as the regular city council meeting. Should a committee meeting go beyond its scheduled time, it may back up the city council meeting. I have had more than one experience where a committee meeting with much interest from the public runs long and delays the start of the city council meeting for an hour or longer! If you have a child waiting to be recognized or other business at the council meeting that was scheduled for 7:00 p.m., this can be aggravating.
The possibility of delaying the city council meeting is one reason why other city councils have their committee meetings on separate days from the regular city council meeting. Another good reason to have committee meetings on a different day – it gives both the council and the public time to ponder issues that may come up during the meeting. Granted, much of what the council does is routine, and the ability to move legislation out of committee to the council agenda on the same night is efficient, but…I’m getting ahead of myself.
There are four standing committees, each constituted of four city council members. Committee membership is determined by the council president. Each committee has a chair and vice chair as appointed by the council president.
Finance – Matters referred to the Finance Committee include but are not limited to the City of Stow operating and appropriation budgets, capital budget, note and bond legislation, and various contracts. The Finance Director’s Report is given during Finance Committee meetings.
Planning – Matters referred to the Planning Committee include but are not limited to legislation concerning economic development, zoning code changes, business regulation code changes and the comprehensive plan. The Planning Director’s Report is given during Planning Committee meetings.
Roads and Public Safety – Matters referred to the Roads and Safety Committee include but are not limited to legislation concerning police and fire departments, transportation, connectivity, and stormwater. Police Chief, Fire Chief, and City Engineer Report(s) are given during Roads and Safety Committee meetings.
Public Improvements – Matters referred to the Public Improvements Committee include but are not limited to legislation concerning the courthouse, all city buildings, city parks and recreation, environment, utilities franchise. The Service Director’s Report is given during Public Improvements Committee meetings.
Standing committee meetings are scheduled at the end of regular city council meetings. Committee meetings are scheduled based on need, and not all will meet before each regular meeting of council. The Finance Committee is the exception, in that it generally meets before each regular council meeting. Why? Anything the city purchases over $15,000 must go through the Finance Committee, and a city purchases many goods and enters many contracts, therefore, the Finance Committee almost always meets.
In addition to the standing committees, the Council may turn itself into a Committee of the Whole (COW) when it wishes, so that all council members may consider an issue or legislation (as opposed to only four members in the other standing committees). The President of Council is the presiding officer of the Committee of the Whole. The Law Director’s Report will be given during the Committee of the Whole meetings. The COW will often include an executive session to discuss issues that are not required to be discussed in an open meeting such as contracts, pending litigation, security issues or other sensitive topics as governed by Ohio Sunshine Laws (an article on this later).
Finally, the council may hold a public hearing before committee meetings on any resolution or ordinance enacting, amending, or repealing zoning or building regulations. Zoning and building issues are thought to be community matters that should be commonly resolved and require an opportunity for public input. Hence, the required public hearing.
Committee Meetings -- Where the Work Gets Done
Again, you showed up at 7:00 p.m. You may have no idea that the council has already been at it for two hours. First, with a public hearing for a zoning change, then the Planning Committee, Roads and Safety Committee, Finance Committee, and the Committee of Whole (no Public Improvements Committee scheduled tonight!).
The order of the committees or hearings is publicly available before each council night, as are the agendas for each committee meeting, hearing, and regular meeting of council on the city’s website.
Legislation must first be introduced in one of the committees. Three of the four committee members must vote to move the proposed legislation onto the agenda of the regular council meeting later that night. So, if you are showing up to hear a discussion of the new noise ordinance you hope the council will pass, you need to be aware of what committee that discussion will take place. Or perhaps it has moved onto the council agenda for one of the three required readings (assuming the rule suspending the three readings was not invoked – see my article on emergency legislation and suspending the rules).
Contact the Clerk of Council or the council member/city official sponsoring the legislation for an update on where the legislation is in process and an approximate time of when the relevant committee is meeting to discuss the legislation. Of course, it is often not possible to give an exact time of when a committee is meeting. The Public Improvement Committee may be scheduled to meet at 6:00 p.m., however, discussion or citizen input during the previous committee meeting might push the time later. In any case, the start of each committee meeting begins with the banging of a gavel and the announcement of what committee is meeting and the members of that committee.
Speaking of citizen input, council rules allow citizens time to speak during the public comments section of each committee meeting. The time that a citizen may speak is not limited during committee meetings. You will be asked to go to the microphone and give your name and address for the public record. Speakers providing testimony may be sworn in by the clerk. Your comments will be recorded and become part of the Minutes for the meeting and exist in perpetuity as a recording available online.
You may also comment during the regular city council meeting, however, comments are limited to three minutes. The council president or president of a committee may impose time limits on public comments if there are many people seeking to speak on an issue or if speakers do not address a relevant issue before council, make personnel attacks, or otherwise abuse their privilege to speak (as listed in Rules of Council). In some cases, public comments may be on the agenda AFTER the council acts on your legislation of interest so it might be a good idea to speak during the previous committee. Remember, there is no time limit on public comments during a committee meeting.
It is now 7:30 p.m. and the council has returned from an executive session during the Committee of the Whole. After a brief discussion about moving legislation coming out of executive session onto the evening’s council agenda, the President of Council moves to adjourn the COW.
City Council Starts with a Prayer
Assuming council and city officials do not need a break from their evening of committee meetings and hearings thus far, the President of Council will wait for the Clerk to indicate she is ready to begin recording and documenting the next meeting. We are finally ready for the regular city council meeting to begin! The President of Council will bang the gavel and introduce the councilperson who will be giving the prayer for that evening’s meeting (By law, Stow requires a prayer at each regular meeting or 60 seconds of silence). All will stand, and the same councilperson will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. No other meeting that evening begins with a prayer or the pledge – that is how you know you are witnessing the regular city council meeting.
After the Minutes from the previous meeting are approved, the mayor will provide updates on issues of interest and read a resolution(s) recognizing the achievement of a city employee or community member. Council members may raise a point for discussion under new business or return to a previously discussed point under old business. Actions coming out of executive session are often dealt with in the new business part of the agenda.
Toward the end of the meeting, legislation at various points in the process will be read and all legislation and resolutions coming from the committees will be acted upon. Some legislation will only be read by its title for a first or second reading, some legislation will be voted on. Legislation may be “placed on the table” or tabled to discuss later. The dispatching of ordinances and resolutions can be rather long and monotonous as the Clerk of Council and council members progress down the list, occasionally stopping for discussion on a piece of legislation. This is where council members often give their reasoning for voting one way or the other or ask questions of city officials that were not asked in committee.
After the list of legislation is addressed, the council will vote to “pay the bills” in response to the bill listing that was emailed before the meeting from the Finance Department. This maneuver allows the city to pay for a host of items without requiring separate legislation for each. Next, the council president will ask each committee president if they wish to schedule a committee meeting before the next regular meeting, the council president will note if a COW meeting is necessary, and request if any executive sessions will be necessary from city officials. Finally, the council president will ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
You made it! Luckily the regular council meeting was only delayed 30 minutes tonight and the list of legislation that was worked through was relatively short. It is 8:15 p.m. and you are shocked how quickly the meeting ended.
A Note on Public Participation
You are happy that you were able to speak during the public comments section, although the President of Council cut you off at the 3-minute mark and that was a bit annoying since you took the time to come out to the meeting. You understand that all people must be given the same opportunity to speak, but it was still a bit embarrassing. You hope your words will move the council members to pass the legislation/not pass the legislation you spoke in favor of/against, and you will probably just watch the recording next time.
Stow has invested in software that allows the viewer to jump to points in the agenda that are of interest to them. One no longer must forward through entire meetings to find the part that applies to them!
Some jurisdictions allow people to speak at council meetings remotely. Stow is not there yet, but it will happen one day. Eventually, fewer chairs will be needed in council chambers as people interact with their local government from the comfort of their own homes. Like my college students, citizens will be able to fast forward through the monotonous parts to that which interests them – and do it in their pajamas.
Moving forward, council members will hopefully find themselves seated in a format more conducive to civil discourse and efficiency, that keeps the theatrics to a minimum while maximizing transparency.
Thanks for tuning in!
Dr. Licate has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and is employed as Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Akron, where he is a Fellow at the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies.
He served as a Stow At-Large City Councilperson from 2022-2023, as part of the Public Improvements and Planning Committees. Previously, Licate served as a member and president of the Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education from 2016 until 2020. While on the school board, Licate founded and chaired the district’s Security Committee. Licate’s other public service includes appointments to the Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools Facilities Committee and the Stow Public Safety Services Commission.
Licate has consulted for various policing and homeland security agencies on the topics of policing strategies and counterterrorism.
