(Disclaimer – This is for council meetings only.

The Planning Commission runs much more professionally.)

1.     The clock on the council meeting room wall is always off the actual time. Plan on being there a few minutes early. The council will start the meeting at the posted time by their watches.

2.     There is a sign-in sheet when you walk into the room. Signing in is not required. You can put as much, or as little, information as you desire.

3.     There will be a copy of the agenda available. If they run out, ask the assistant to print more. If there is a public hearing, there may be additional information available. If you download the council packet (usually available on our website and city website), invariably there will be more information passed out to councilors at the beginning of the meeting (or it was emailed to them). This information, most likely, will not be made available to you. Sometimes they make extras, sometimes they don’t. One meeting we attended this year, there were approximately 10 additional documents that were given to council. We did not receive those (and did not want to pay the 10 bucks to get them). As an aside, the City of Dayton makes full council packets available for all attendees. It’s called inclusion.

4.     The Mayor will call the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance will be recited. Standing with your right hand over your heart is the protocol.

5.     This is where anything goes. The agenda is supposed to be followed, but the council (usually the Mayor) tends to bounce all over the place. Not really sure why those details weren’t worked out before the agenda was printed, but we just go with the flow. The council will make any announced adjustments (but even these will change as the meeting goes on).

6.     Citizen Comment Period – This is where citizens get an opportunity to address the council on matters not already on the agenda. The time allotted each person is five minutes, unless the time has been changed by the Mayor prior to the first person speaking. Here are a few side notes:

The Mayor will ask you to state your name and address for the record. This is not required by law. No where in any public meeting law does it state they can require this. If the Mayor forgets to ask you, you will be interrupted to do so as soon as it occurs to the Mayor. This is a train of thought breaker. Why they don’t wait until you finish speaking is beyond me.

Council rules forbid them from taking action on any matter during the citizen comment period. But, there are no repercussions for violating council rules.

Council members or staff are not required to provide an action or answers to citizens at all during the council meeting. I, personally, have been waiting two years for an answer to some questions. I know of another citizen who has been waiting for seven. Even if they give you a date that you can expect an answer, don’t count on it. It’s a way of getting you to sit back down.

If you get asked to leave the meeting, it does not mean you are banned for life. It only is effective for that meeting and you are more than welcome to come back to future meetings. If you really feel the need to retort to a comment they make, don’t bother. It does not impact them. Give us a call, we’ll post whatever you want.

7.     The rest of the meeting goes something like this:

The topic is stated. Someone makes a motion to approve (no one ever makes a motion to dis-approve). Someone will second that motion. Discussion will ensue. The public does not have input on the council period of the discussion. If the topic is not too controversial, the public may be asked if they have anything to add. Then they vote.

Councilors have been known to talk to their neighbor while citizens are talking. Rolling of the eyes, puckering of the lips, chewing of the nails is also observed, depending on the level of comfort. Some people would call this rude. We have just come to expect it.

Once they vote, the topic is done and there will be no further conversation. (Unless a council member is bitter about the vote, then you get to see all kinds of conversation.)

Some additional information:

Turn off your cell phone. The council does not even allow airplane setting or vibrate. They claim it interferes with the digital recording, but the state senate would disagree with that. This rule only applies to citizens. Councilor Cullen will keep his phone on, and has, on occasion, answered it during the meeting. He must have some really important calls.

Meetings run quite long lately. So, be prepared to sit for a while.

The chairs are very uncomfortable. They look like big cushions, but are really more like bricks. The council room used to have a variety of chairs, so people could pick what they wanted to sit on. But, those chairs have magically disappeared into the black hole that is our city assets.

At least one of the councilors will be late and / or unprepared. It is annoying, but it’s been going on so long, there really is no use in expecting anything else. It’s usually the same councilors.

At least one of the councilors will begin to whine about the late hour and / or whatever television show they are missing.

There is no special attire. Some councilors have even shown up in very unflattering sweats, un-showered and smelly. So, no reason to dress up. Come as you are.

If you have to use the restroom or want a cup of water, that is okay to do during the meeting. If you have to leave, that is also okay. You can walk out. Just try not to be disruptive. That councilor that comes late? Usually they walk in, take off some outerwear, get their water, go back out to their car, use the restroom and then proceeds to explain to everyone why they were late. Apparently, the reason is so important it needs to be made a part of the public record. Some psychiatrists would call that a narcissistic trait. Please don’t be disruptive.

If the council goes into executive session, you are required to leave. This is the one time that council is allowed to discuss and deliberate regarding city matters without being in view of the public. There are very few reasons they can do this and will state the reason before the executive session starts. They may only discuss the matter the executive session was called for. They may not take action, direct staff to take action or decide any matter while in executive session. This is a really big no-no and someone will always blab that it happened.

Once the meeting is over, there is an actual race to see who can get to their vehicles the quickest to avoid interacting with the citizenry. There are few exceptions to this, as you will see at the end of the meeting. If you wish to have a conversation with a councilor, I suggest you contact them and make an appointment. Their contact information will be posted on the councilor bio pages on our website.