Have your say as a resident
As a resident or stakeholder, you can directly influence the council’s decisions by exercising your right to speak during the roundtable discussion.
Speaking during a roundtable discussion
During the roundtable discussions, members of the municipal council prepare for municipal council . The roundtable discussions are held once every four to five weeks, on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. in the council chamber of City Hall. During these sessions, the topics scheduled for the upcoming council meeting are discussed. Council members gather information on these topics from the members of the mayor and aldermen’s council and from speakers, and form their opinions on them.
During the roundtable discussion, you may join the conversation at the table or speak into the standing microphone. A total of up to 30 minutes is allowed for each agenda item. Each speaker is allotted a maximum of 5 minutes for their remarks. If there are more than 6 speakers, the total time will be divided among them.
If you have a lot of information to share, it is best to put it in writing so that it can be added to the minutes of the roundtable discussion.
Sign up to speak during the roundtable discussion
Would you like to exercise your right to speak during the roundtable discussions? If so, please register in advance of the meeting. You can register by phone or via Municipal Clerk’s Office with the Municipal Clerk’s Office by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Please provide your name, address, and phone number, as well as the agenda item you wish to speak about.
The chair of the meeting will also ask at the beginning of the meeting if anyone wishes to exercise their right to speak.
Open House and Public Comment Sessions
When you speak during a roundtable discussion, you are discussing a decision that has already been finalized. You are then at the end of the decision-making process.
Would you like to have a say right from the start of the decision-making process?
For certain topics, the City Council organizes drop-in and public consultation meetings. These meetings often focus on issues such as the redesign of a street or neighborhood. During these meetings, the preliminary plans are explained, and residents are asked for their opinions and ideas. At that stage, there is often more flexibility to incorporate your ideas.