As a city’s main lawmaking body, your council decides laws and ordinances that touch many aspects of your daily life. They govern a broad range of issues, from the smallest details (like installing a stoplight or carving out a bike lane) to the most complex ones (such as zoning and land use). In some cities, council members run as partisans and their political parties appear on the ballot when you vote.
Besides filling the legislative role of passing new laws, your city’s council also oversees government operations and sets fiscal policies. It establishes annual goals and monitors the performance of the city manager. The council delegates specific work to committees and staff who help translate policy into practice.
Council Members often form caucuses — groups of like-minded Members who share common concerns — to make sure their views are represented in the process. Each committee has its own chair, and each member of the Council is assigned — through a voting process by all Members — to serve on one or more of the committees.
The Council also works in tandem with the mayor’s office to keep the city moving forward. Observers point to the Council’s override of the mayor’s veto of a package of bills expanding eligibility for homeless shelter and reviving a commission that could close Rikers Island on time as examples of how the Council is fulfilling its co-equal role.