Guide to Public Meetings

We’ve heard from many members of the community that the City process can be confusing, and we agree! In response we’ve put together some tips & tricks for effectively participating in the public process. Please note that this is not a comprehensive guide to all City processes.

First, Some Basics

• The City Council meets the first and third Mondays every month at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers (1400 Fifth Ave) or virtually by using the link on the agenda to join the webinar and participate from home. In addition to their regular meetings, they occasionally hold special study sessions on certain topics. If Monday is a holiday, the meeting is held on the following Tuesday. All of these meetings are open to the public and information about them can be found online.
• Boards and Commission meetings are also open to the public, and members of the community may either attend in-person or virtually using the link on the agenda. You can find a list of our boards and commission online.
• 72-hours prior to a regular public meeting, the agenda and any applicable staff reports are made available to the public.
• All public meetings are subject to the Brown Act. For more information visit the League of California Cities website.
• City Council and Planning Commission meetings are televised on Channel 27 and also available to watch on our public meetings page and are archived on our YouTube channel.
• The City Manager provides information about upcoming topics on the City Council agenda via email. To receive this bimonthly update, sign up online. 
• You can sign-up to receive email notifications when agendas get posted online as well as other City updates.

Providing Public Comment

There are multiple ways you can make sure your opinions are heard and considered by our City Council. Here are a few options:

• Provide them in-person at the meeting. You are welcome to come to the meeting and provide public comment in-person. Each speaker will have 2-minutes to provide public comment, but don't forget to smile! You'll be on camera.
• Submit your comments by email by 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. This is important because if you experience technical difficulties during the meeting and are unable to provide your comments over Zoom, the City Council will have already read your comments. Make sure you send them in as soon as possible to make sure the City Council had the chance to read your email.
• Submit your comments over the phone. We always list a telephone number and meeting ID at the top of the agenda, and include the contact information at the bottom of the YouTube video. If you call in to provide public comment, dial *9 to let us know you wish to speak. Once it is your turn in the queue, you will hear a notification that the host is inviting you to speak and that you will need to press *6 to unmute yourself. Once you press *6, you may provide your 2-minutes of comments.
• Watch directly through the Webinar. We add a 'tinyurl' link at the top of the agenda for anyone who wishes to watch directly through the webinar. If watching this way, you can select the 'raise hand' feature when you wish to comment, and you will be notified when the host invites you to participate.
• Did something go wrong? If so, please email our City Clerk during the meeting. We will do everything we can to make sure your voice is heard.

What to Expect

All meetings are filmed and aired on Channel 27 as well as on our website. City Council meetings are formal, although we do try to lighten the mood occasionally with a joke or two. The City Council sits at the dais with staff below, including the elected City Clerk and City Attorney. Members of the public are invited to sit in the audience.

City Council meetings are where decisions are made regarding all kinds of City business, from contracts to hire a consultant all the way to approving a major land use decision. There are several types of agenda items:

1. “Open Time” is a time where members of the public may speak on items that are not otherwise on the agenda. Speakers are asked to limit their remarks to 2 minutes.
2. The “City Manager’s Report” and “Councilmember Reports” are standing items in which the City Manager and members of the City Council can report out or provide brief updates from their work on other regional bodies and organizations.
3. The “Consent Calendar” is a list of regular orders of business that requires just one motion and vote to approve them all. This typically includes things like contracts, street closures, purchasing agreements, and other routine items. Members of the City Council or public may pull items off the Consent Calendar if they wish to discuss them in more detail before a vote.
4. A “Public Hearing” is a formality for certain proposed actions designed to allow the public to provide “testimony” on the issue. Their remarks are recorded for the public record. Sometimes public hearings are required by law, and other times the City Council may use them to gather information that will help them make decisions.
5. A “Special Presentation” is normally used when the City Council wishes to formally recognize a group or individual for their contribution in some way, or receive a report from an another agency.
6. An “Other Agenda Items” are discussion items for the City Council. Many types of items can fall into this category, far too many to list. These items either require the City Council’s approval or can be informational reports on programs and projects.

Each non-Consent Calendar agenda item typically includes the following steps:

1. Staff makes a presentation that explains the topic and requested action by the City Council. Depending on the nature of the topic, other groups may make presentations as well such as project applicants or consultants.
2. The City Council may ask questions of staff about the topic at-hand.
3. Following questions from the City Council, the Mayor will ask for public comment. Members of the public are invited to speak for 2-minutes. Please start by introducing yourself for the record.
4. After public comment time concludes, the City Council may ask staff to answer any questions asked during public comment. It is at the discretion of the Mayor and/or City Council to decide whether the Council or Staff will respond to questions posed by the public.
5. The City Council then deliberates and votes on the item.

In addition to City Council Meetings, the City also convenes other types of public meetings, such as:

• Study Sessions – these are special meetings scheduled for the City Council to hear detailed information on a topic. The Council can ask questions and provide initial feedback to staff on a topic. The City Council does not make decisions at these meetings. Study Sessions are subject to the Brown Act and agendas are posted 72-hours prior. Although staff usually makes a presentation, they don’t normally write staff reports.
• Community Meetings, Workshops, and Town Halls – the City will often host forums on large projects or important topics in order to solicit input from the public throughout the course of a project or provide information on an issue that impacts our community.

Top 5 Tips

1. Help us create and maintain a respectful and inclusive environment. Please do not applaud or “boo” other speakers. This can make some members of the public feel too intimidated to speak and public speaking is scary enough! Please don’t make personal attacks, and be civil and courteous.
2. If you are speaking, please address the City Council, or other Board or Commission, rather than staff or the audience.
3. Remember, your time allotment for speaking is 2 minutes – it can be helpful to practice your comments ahead of time.
4. You are welcome to email materials for the City Council to consider in advance of the meeting. Please email them to the City Clerk.