Essay about City Council Meetings Observations

At the Dallas Center city council meeting topics discussed were the TreesPlease fiscal year, the city library financial summary, equipment upgrades from Minburn Communications on the water tower, southwest stormwater drainage improvements,trailhead restrooms project, water plant update, wastewater treatment plant project, ordinance actions, DNR mandates, firework restrictions, city reports, and public forums. I felt that the most important issue discussed was the fireworks restriction. Most topics discussed were just a summary of what stage of a process a project was on, however; the fireworks discussion was debated for awhile. They debated about what terminology to use for supervision of fireworks, they

On Monday, April 13th, 2009, I visited the Culver City city council meeting, and found that they operate using a council-manager form of government. For a city with a population of about 38,000, this type of governmental structure is fairly common, and I was not surprised to see it in action in a community where the median household income is around $56,000 a year. Culver City is also a culturally rich community with a 60 percent Caucasian population, and a quarter of the residents are either of African American or Asian decent. The mayor, D. Scott Malsin, is one of five members on the council, and his term as mayor is on a rotating basis. Having been to a Hermosa Beach city council meeting with a similar council-manager structure, I knew

It was a gloomy Tuesday morning in Camden on March 18, 2014. Spring break had just began and the free time to do the court observation. The Superior Court of New Jersey had begun a civil action court case that was fairly controversial over how to distribute ones pension to their spouse when filing a divorce. When arriving upon the court house, the whole entire environment surrounding the court was very authoritarian. It seems that the court rooms and such are always located where most of the town’s governing takes place, whether it is just a municipal court, or the superior court just as this one. Before arriving, the presumption was that the court house would like every other court house, big building with large marble stone pillars in

Board of Appeals of Worcester, 340 Mass.748, 753. Accordingly, the court ultimately reversed the decree granting the zoning variance tothe gas station.In order for Client to be granted a permit variance to build a gas station in a commercial officespace zone, he must meet each of the 40A, § 10 statutory requirements. Grenon v.Commonwealth, (2004) Mass. Super. LEXIS 176.In Shacka v. Board of Appeals, the Massachusetts Supreme Court reversed a zoning variancegranted to a gas station owner when it determined there were no facts to support a hardshipexisted. The court stated “if there is occasion to change the uses permitted on this and otherland in the area, because of the general effect of the shift to business, that is for the town toconsider by way of amendment.” Similarly under the client’s circumstances, a court would findan amendment more appropriate in addressing his concerns of an overage of commercial officespace and need for a gas station. (1961) 341 Mass. 593.Client has no hardship related to his request for a zoning variance and thus would not qualifyfor one. Simply because Client believes a gas station is needed in the area, and that officespace is too plentiful, in no way meets the zoning statutory requirements of 40A, § 10.In summary, Client has no legal basis to request a zoning variance in not meeting the 40A, §10 statutory

The issues and needs discussed were all listed on the agenda and the leaders went through every resolution, department reports, and ordinances. I understood that for the resolutions there were members that signed the resolution and then it got voted on during the meeting. They voted with a keypad device and the public could see who voted

As the daughter of the Mayor of Buffalo, I was born into a family with strong political identities. My mother’s name is Teri Lachermeier. Buffalo has been her home for most of her life. My father's name is David Grage and they raised me and my two other siblings in the town of Buffalo.

The village of Pleasantville conducts public board meetings every second and fourth Monday of each month. On rare occasions, for further discussion on serious issues or concerns of Pleasantville, the village board will conduct meetings—like a public hearing—on other weekdays. These meetings are located in the conference room on the second floor of the Village hall, which is also next to the Pleasantville Police Station. The village board consists of four trustees—Steven Lord, Mindy Berard, Colleen Griffin Wagner and Joseph Stargiotti—a mayor—Peter Scherer—a village clerk—Judith Weintraub—and the village administrator—Patricia Dwyer. The village board members were dressed in semi-casual business attire, which appropriately fit their position. The members sat in a congressional layout, which looked like the formation of a half circle or crescent. This allowed the audience to see each individual’s face and it is easier to identify who is speaking. They also used parliamentary motions when they spoke. The purpose of the village of Pleasantville board meetings is to discuss and resolve present issues and future events that are happening or are expected to happen in the Pleasantville area. Residents have the opportunity to either post questions for the village board to answer on their website or they can call the board live on the telephone. The trustees and the mayor usually dominated the entire conversation and were the only people who were permitted to speak during the

They also had a scripted method of discussing topics brought before the council. First the mayor would call an individual to the podium. This person would be the speaker that came for the

On September 9, 2014 I attended the Glendale City Council meeting which was held at the Council Chamber which is located on the 2nd floor of the Glendale City Hall, Room 200, 613 East Broadway, Glendale, California. The meeting commenced at 6 p.m. and lasted for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. Several policy proposals were made and discussed in this particular meeting. This paper is aimed at discussing the various policy proposals made and debated at this meeting with a view to establishing whether they are acceptable or unacceptable to the Glendale electorate. It is, however, essential to provide a brief background of the City of Glendale before embarking on a discussion of policy proposals.

By a 4-2 vote, with Rick Hanlon and Brian Smith voting against the ordinance, which amends a city law regarding the permitted uses of accessory buildings. The amendment reads, “Accessory buildings may not be used for dwelling purposes. Containers and pods are not permitted but may be placed temporarily for a period not to exceed sixty days.”

This meeting started late due to a lack of council members and also audience. After, ten minutes a third member arrived and the meeting began, however the council skipped the first half of the agenda and jumped to Communications. Ten minutes after starting Communications, a fourth council member appeared and the meeting started all over to the beginning of the agenda. The meeting started over because the council could not approve the minutes and agenda without meeting its quorum. This kind of sucked the women presenting Communications because she had to repeat herself all over again. Communications consisted the presenter communicating with the board different people that were being appointed to different committees. This committees ranged from Keep Atlanta Beautiful to Water and Sewer Appeals

On November 9th 2015, a town hall meeting took place in my political science class. This meeting was a chance for students of the school to bring up concerns, or issues regarding there education. For their voice to be heard directly to the faculty that runs the school, the students could finally have a chance to get a valid answer. There was questions about safety, mathematics, community college education, and typical student issues.

One way to see public administration in action is by attending a city council meeting, whether it be in an urban or rural area, public administration still has a part in each event. As Kettl (2018; p. 244) referenced in his book, there is not a civil system that would be sustainable without strong leadership. This paper will discuss the author’s description, observation, and reflection during a city council meeting.

I chose to attend a city council meeting for this assignment and was very surprised at what I witnessed. The city council served an important purpose and the meeting actually accomplished many important goals. Among the interesting things that I saw at the council meeting were the people who attended, the people who presented, the people who sat on the council, and the subjects that were being voted upon in the meeting.

While walking from class yesterday, I saw something. I noticed there was a group of individuals setting up a tent, electric keyboard, and a few other things amongst these. It was obvious to me as if there was going to be a local concert in the park. I assumed this would be produced by a group of younger people, but it was led by an older group. To me, this was rather interesting since it was as close as Woodruff Park. This was a close location from to my dorm and right outside the location of my class. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the first half of the session, but I was able to return for a short time after leaving my meeting.