City Council
Meetings & Committees
Types of Meetings
City Councils can hold six
types of meetings. All
meetings, except for an
executive session, are open
to the public. According to
the Freedom of Information
Act, the Council must give
the general public notice
about the time and place for
a meeting at least two hours
before it starts.
Regular Council
Meetings: These
meetings take care of
reoccurring or general
matters. During these
meetings, aldermen vote
to enact ordinances,
resolutions, and award
contracts and establish
policies. Special
Council Meetings:
These meeting are
generally called for a
specific purpose that
requires action prior to
the next regular Council
meeting. Usually these
meetings have only one
or two items on the
agenda. Public
Hearings: The
Council holds hearings
to allow residents an
opportunity to share
their ideas and explain
how they feel about
certain issues.
Executive Session:
The Council holds these
closed meetings only to
discuss a particular
public officer or
employee. They can
discuss hiring,
appointing, promoting,
demoting or disciplining
someone. They cannot
discuss policies during
an executive session.
Work Session: The
Council can hold a more
casual meeting called a
work session when they
need to learn more about
proposals or challenges.
Since the Council
doesn’t have to deal
with all the business of
a regular meeting, they
can have longer
discussions and talk
about issues in more
detail.
Informational
Meetings: The
Council or a Council
Committee may hold a
less formal meeting to
provide residents with
information relating to
issues affecting them.
Source: Guidebook for
Municipal Officials of
Mayor/Council Cities
Revised June 2011. Written
and published by the
Arkansas Municipal League
First Meeting Hints
Hints if you are attending
your first regular council
meeting:
- Read the agenda
before the meeting.
- Check
past minutes before
the meeting if you need
more information.
- Sign in and indicate
whether you want to
address the council
during the part of the
agenda called “Citizen
Input/Public
Appearances.”
- Keep your comments
short and to the point.
You are allowed about
three minutes.
- If you speak, stay
through the whole
meeting to learn if the
council does or says
anything about your
issue.
- Stay quiet during
the meeting. You may
talk to council members
before and after the
meeting.
Regular Monthly
Meeting Time & Place
The City Council’s
regular monthly meetings
are held 6:30 p.m. on
the fourth Monday of
each month at Bella
Vista Community TV, 1801
Forest Hills Blvd.,
Suite 203. The station
is downstairs in the
Highlands Crossing
building.
The meeting is open to
everyone. It’s also
broadcast live and
recorded for later
repeat broadcasts.
If you can’t attend a
meeting, you can watch
the monthly City Council
meeting, live, each
fourth Monday of the
month at 6:30 p.m. on
Cox Communications cable
channel 222.
The broadcast is
repeated each Monday at
6:30 p.m. The meeting
can also be viewed at
11:00 a.m., the Tuesday
following the fourth
Monday broadcast.
|
