How does city council work

Legislation takes two forms -- ordinances and resolutions. An ordinance establishes a permanent rule of government.

Every official act of the council, having the force and effect of law, must be an ordinance. Ordinances must be read before full council at two regular meetings. There are exceptions, for example, a city charter amendment requires three readings. A resolution generally expresses the intent or support of various projects and enterprises, or establishes legislative policy of a general nature. Resolutions need be read only once and can be introduced and adopted at the same meeting.

The standing committees of the Atlanta City Council meet to consider legislation and to make recommendations on each item. The committees then report their actions to the full council the entire city council body. Citizens have the opportunity to appear before a standing committee to express their views on any piece of legislation. The Speaker The Speaker is elected by Council Members and leads us in setting priorities, passing laws, and directing public money for the benefit of New Yorkers.

The Minority Leader The Minority Leader of the Council comes from the political party with the second most representation. Hearings Most of our legislative work happens in committee meetings and hearings focused on human services, infrastructure, and government affairs.

Committees Each committee is chaired by a Council Member and meets at least once every other month, except in July and August. Caucuses The Council also meets in caucuses, a group of Members with shared concerns, to ensure that the needs of specific communities are represented. Where we meet, vote, and listen Members have offices in each of their districts, and also a legislative office at Broadway. More about boards, commissions and committees - including committee descriptions, members, mandates, recruitment and meeting dates.

As the chief administrative officer of The City of Calgary, the city manager provides leadership and direction to all administrative departments and City of Calgary staff. The city manager reports directly to Council. The city auditor is an officer appointed by Council and is independent from City administrative staff. The city auditor reports to Council through the Audit Committee. Manchester deputy city clerk Kathie Gardner says seeing the city as a whole is never far from an alderman's mind.

This is local government and local politics and there isn't a lot of space to forget that," she said. Consider, for instance, if one part of the city suffers a flood and another part stays high and dry. When money comes in from state and local authorities, the aldermen have a say in where it goes. The alderman of the ward with the most flooding will push for as much relief as possible.

The other aldermen may see his plight and agree or try to get some of the money themselves. If aldermen grab a slide of the pie without considering long-term needs, the city could wind up facing a loss of tax revenue, increased crime and other problems in the flooded area. These problems could then spill into other wards. So, to run a city successfully, a council has to weigh the needs of a ward with the needs of the whole community.