Has anyone ever had a problem in your district, yet you felt no one would listen or you did not know who to call? I figured that being a representative of District 8, I need to let you know how you can make a difference in your community. On Wednesdays, at 3pm, the mayor and council members attend a formal council meeting that is open to the public. This is the meeting where actual ordinances, resolutions are either passed or rejected. The public is expected to attend to voice their opinion on the proposed resolutions. At the end of the meeting, a citizen comment session is held, in which constituents have the opportunity to express their concerns to the mayor and council. Beware that as you enter the council chambers you need to fill out a card to speak. These are readily accessible, but if you do not fill one out, you will not be allowed to speak. The location is the city council chambers, 200 W. Jefferson St. Although the meetings are held on Wednesday, they are not every Wednesday, so call the City Clerk at 602-262-6811 to confirm the date of the next meeting. This is representative government in action!
Hi Tim, The city I am at has its City Council meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. I have noticed that the only people who attend these other than City personnel are those who have an action pending or those who are unhappy about something. When I first came here I kept hearing about "the incident at the high school." I thought they must have had a kid show up at school with a gun. They laughed at that and said that is what we have police for. The incident at the school involved approximately 600 people and occurred when they raised property taxes. since I have been here, one person wanted the times reduced that fireworks could be sold and the other person thought the City charged too much to turn-off service in one location and turn it on in another. I am in Small Town U.S.A. and Newton is alive and doing well. I did enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteI've been to a few city councils back home, they are great for seeing representative government. It's also a good way to stay informed on what's going on with city and district affairs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this information. I have attended a few Phoenix City Council meetings last year and it was/is very interesting. I do enjoy watching them and encourage others to spend some time and listen to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you are putting that out there. I wanted to ask what is the turn out like at these meetings?
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you have placed this information for all to see. Not enough citizens attend these meetings. It is amazing how much you can learn just by going and listening. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI've been to a few of the city council meetings on wednesdays and I have seen some very interesting people voicing their opinions. Needless to say, most of these individuals are heated about something and it is kind of funny when their time runs out and the microphone is turned off but they still keep ranting.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to a council meeting, but that is great that anyone in the community can speak their opinion. I didn't know the process for being able to voice out during the citizen comment session until now. Thank you for the information.
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