Speaking at a City Council meeting

Advocacy > Local initiatives > Sharing your story > Speaking at a City Council meeting

Connect with representatives and help Lincoln retain its greatness.

Attending and speaking at City Council meetings is an effective way of showing local politicians that you care about the issues that they’re discussing, and ensuring that your pride in the city does nothing but increase.

Benefits

Free

It doesn’t cost anything to attend and speak at a Lincoln City Council meeting.

Impactful

Speaking at a City Council meeting is one of the most impactful methods of having your voice heard in the local government.

Community

Members of the City Council are fellow Lincolnites – and attending a City Council meeting is a great way to meet other members of the community, as well.

More information

City Council meetings

The Lincoln City Council meets most Mondays at 3pm at the Council-City Building, near 10th and J. The City Council does not meet on weeks when a holiday falls on a Monday; additionally, the City Council meets at 5:30pm (rather than 3pm) on the last Monday of every month to provide easier access to those with daytime jobs.

Speaking at a meeting

All City Council meetings are open to the public – however, different resolutions and ordinances are up for public comment at each meeting. To view what items are up for public comment at a given meeting, visit the Lincoln City Council agenda (linked below).

Additionally, time is reserved at the end of the 2nd and final meetings of each month for the general public to bring up other questions or concerns – even if they do not relate to items that are on that day’s agenda.

Ordinances and resolutions

There are two main types of legislation at the City Council level: ordinances and resolutions.

Ordinances are essentially laws at the local level; they have 3 hearings on 3 consecutive Mondays before the City Council. The first hearing acts as public notice of the ordinance, while the second hearing is an opportunity for public comment; public comment is also accepted at the third hearing, where the City Council will also vote on the ordinance.

Resolutions are different from ordinances; similar to resolutions in other parts of the government, local resolutions can be used to express the will or intent of the people or the Council. Resolutions have less impact than ordinances, and in turn only require 2 hearings on 2 consecutive Mondays; the first hearing acts as a public notice, while the second hearing acts as both an opportunity for public comment, as well as the time for the City Council to vote.

Tuning in

Even if you can’t attend a City Council meeting to speak, it can still be valuable to listen in and watch the meeting live. City Council meetings are streamed live through LNK TV (linked below).