• Public participation at regular and special City Council meetings is regulated by Rule 5 of City Council Rules of Procedure.
• Each speaker is limited to three minutes and Council Rules dictate that one person may not give or assign their time to others. The Chair may regulate the time for public participation, may restrict cumulative or redundant presentations, and may require that each speaker’s comments pertain to the subject under discussion.
• Anyone wishing to speak at “First Call – Public Invited To Be Heard” (Item 8) must add his/her/their name to the Public Invited To Be Heard sign-up list prior to the start of the meeting. Only those on the list prior to the start of the meeting will be invited to speak at “First Call - Public Invited To Be Heard.”
• "First Call - Public Invited To Be Heard" is open to residents of Longmont and employees of the City of Longmont only.
• Anyone wishing to speak on a “Second Reading or Public Hearing Items” (Item 10) are asked to add his/her/their name to the speaker list for each second reading/public hearing item they wish to speak on prior to the start of the meeting, but it is not required to sign-up in order to speak on a published public hearing item.
• Anyone wishing to speak during “Final Call – Public Invited To Be Heard” (Item 13) at the end of the meeting will be invited to do so (no sign-up required).

Public Hearings are held at Regular Sessions only.

In order to speak on the record regarding a Public Hearing item, please sign up outside Council Chambers to speak about the particular item of interest to you prior to the meeting between 6:45 and 7 p.m. The Mayor will call speakers in the order they are listed when the Public Hearing is opened on an item. Residents are not required to sign-up in advance to speak on Public Hearing items and may simply step to the podium when the Mayor asks if anyone would like to speak on a Public Hearing item.

Public Comment is limited to three minutes per speaker.

Regular Sessions

City Council can only take formal action at Regular Sessions. Regular Sessions, prescribed by the City's Charter to be held at least twice a month, are usually held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month but are sometimes scheduled on other Tuesdays due to holidays or scheduling conflicts.  Four members of Council constitute a quorum and may conduct City business. Council conducts business at a Regular Session in one of the following manners:

• Ordinances: An ordinance is the mechanism used to implement new local laws and requires two readings before it is enacted. At the first reading, the ordinance is introduced and, if Council desires, questions for information may be addressed to the staff. Council then votes whether or not to order the ordinance published in full, along with a notice of the public hearing, which is held at second reading of the ordinance. On second reading, the Council may again address questions to the staff and may vote to amend the ordinance. A public hearing is then held and Council votes whether or not to adopt the ordinance. Ordinances require an affirmative vote of the majority of the Council for passage. All ordinances adopted on final reading take effect ten days after final publication, except for those containing an "emergency" clause.
• Resolutions: A resolution is the mechanism used to express policy of the Council or direct certain types of administrative action. A resolution is adopted by a vote of the majority of those Council members seated. No public hearing is required for passage of a resolution.
• Motions: A motion is ordinarily used to indicate Council approval of contracts, agreements, and procedural action and may also be used to authorize administrative officials to take certain actions.
• Referrals: When Council is not prepared to take definite action or when further study is needed, the matter may be referred to a City administrative officer or board for research, study and subsequent action by such officer or the City Council.

Study Sessions

The City Council holds Study Sessions once or twice a month, as the schedule allows, though these meetings are not prescribed by the City's Charter. Study Sessions generally cover only one or two topics and are designed to allow for a more in-depth presentation and discussion about issues. No formal action may be taken by the Council at a Study Session other than to direct staff to proceed in a certain manner and to bring items back to a Regular Session for formal action.

Executive Sessions

Executive Sessions are special meetings called in advance that are not open to the public. The topics discussed are limited per Colorado Open Meetings Law. No formal action may be taken during an Executive Session.

Pre-Sessions

Pre-Sessions are informal sessions. No action or direction can be taken by Council during these sessions which are scheduled for one of the following purposes:

• to provide in-depth information on a topic to Council that is timely and does not fit on an upcoming agenda
• for Council to share board updates with each other

Open Forums

Open Forums are like Town Halls in that they are meetings with the sole purpose of the Council listening to the public speak on any topic. The public is allotted five minutes per person and the format is more relaxed. Council Rules do not prohibit the Council from engaging and talking with the public during these sessions.

Organizational Meeting

An Organizational Meeting is held on the first Tuesday in December following each regular city election to conclude any final business of the Council before the newly elected officials are sworn in and then the new Council is convened.

The laws of the City of Longmont are enacted when an ordinance is passed by City Council.

Essentially, ordinances happen in one of two ways:

1. City staff deems it necessary for the Council to change the law, or
2. City Council asks staff to draft an ordinance for their consideration that would change the law

There are other types of actions (resolutions, appropriations, official legislative positions), but if you are interested in changing the law, it is best to first talk to the staff member who is an expert in that area, or talk to your City Council member. Oftentimes, Council members direct staff to prepare an ordinance based on things they heard at their meetings from residents at the Public Invited to be Heard segment of the meeting.

For any questions, please contact the City Clerk's Office at 303-651-8649.

• View City Council Rules of Procedure [PDF]
• View citizen information about Quasi-Judicial City Council Proceedings [PDF]