Questions to Ask a City Council Member
These are for a resident, a student or a local reporter who has a few minutes with their city council member: at ward office hours, after a meeting, at a neighborhood forum, or in an interview for a class or the local paper. They run in the order that conversation tends to go: the job and what one member can decide, the budget, zoning and development, safety and city services in the district, the member's own votes, and last, how to get a problem of yours handled. The title changes from city to city (councilor, alderperson, commissioner) and so does the power behind it, which is why the first group pins down what your member can do before the later ones ask them to do it.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The job
What can the city council decide, and what belongs to the mayor, the city manager or another level of government?
Why ask it
Councils commonly pass local laws and adopt the budget, but where the line falls comes from the city's charter and state law, so ask how it is divided here. If your issue turns out to belong to the county, the state or the school board, ask who there you should take it to.
What do you see as the biggest issue in this district right now?
Why ask it
Settle on your own answer before you ask. A member who names the same problem is someone to work with, and one who names something a mile from your street needs to hear what yours looks like, with the block and how long it has been going on.
What is the one thing you most want to get passed before your term ends?
Why ask it
Ask who else on the council supports it and what is holding it up. A member who can count the votes for their own priority has been doing the work, and one who cannot is still at the wishing stage.
What have you gotten done for this district that I could go and look at?
Why ask it
Asking for something you can visit rules out resolutions and press releases. Go and see it afterward, and if you are writing this up, ask who else worked on it so you can check the account.
Why did you run for the council, and what about the job turned out different from what you expected?
Why ask it
A good opener for a class interview or a profile. The second half tends to get the less rehearsed answer, whether it is how slowly things move or how many of the calls are about trash and parking.
How many votes does it take to pass something on this council, and how often are you in the majority?
Why ask it
The first number is how many offices you would have to persuade, counting this one. The second tells you what a yes from this member is worth: someone who is usually outvoted can champion your issue loudly and still not deliver it, so ask whose votes tend to decide things.
Which council committees are you on, and which decisions go through them first?
Why ask it
Where a council uses committees, an item is often shaped there before the full council sees it. If your issue sits in a committee this member is not on, ask which colleague chairs it.
What do you wish people in the district understood about how the council works?
Why ask it
Works for a class interview and for a resident who is fed up. The answer is usually a complaint in disguise, about requests that arrive the night of the vote or land in the wrong office, so take it as instructions for how to bring yours.
What does a week of council work look like, and is it your only job?
Why ask it
Whether a council seat is full-time or part-time, and what it pays, depends on the city, so ask instead of assuming. For a student it explains why a reply can take a week; for a reporter it opens the fair follow-up of how the other job is kept separate.
Budget
What did you ask for in this year's budget, and how much of it made it into the final version?
Why ask it
Every member goes into budget season wanting something. The gap between the request and the result shows how much pull they have with their colleagues, and what they traded away shows the real order of their priorities.
If I want something for my block in next year's budget, when and where do I need to ask?
Why ask it
Budgets are built over months, and the public hearing near the end is seldom where a new item gets in. Get the dates of the work sessions or committee meetings that come before it, and find out whether a request should go to this office, to a department or into a form on the city's site.
How much is the city spending in this district this year, and on which projects?
Why ask it
Expect streets, parks, pipes or a building, each with a year attached. Ask what the document is called (often it is a capital plan) and where your neighborhood appears in it, so you can check the list yourself next year.
Do council members here get money to direct to their own districts, and how do you decide where yours goes?
Why ask it
Some cities give each member a discretionary fund or let residents vote on a share of the budget, and many do neither. If there is one, ask how a block or a group applies and when the deadline falls.
What would you cut or put off to pay for the thing you most want funded?
Why ask it
Have them name the line, not the category. 'Waste' is not a line; a delayed fire truck, an unfilled position or a later start on a park is, and whichever one they pick shows who in the city they are prepared to disappoint.
Is the council looking at raising any tax, fee or utility rate this year, and where do you stand on it?
Why ask it
Water, trash and parking charges are often set by a council vote, though some utilities answer to a separate board, so check who decides here. If a vote is coming, get the meeting date and ask what the extra money would pay for.
Development
What is being proposed or built in the district right now that residents should know about?
Why ask it
Members generally hear about a project well before a notice goes up on the fence. Write down the address and the applicant's name, then ask the planning department how to see the file.
How does a rezoning or a large project get approved here, and at which step does the council vote?
Why ask it
The usual pieces are a staff review, an appointed planning board and the council, but the order and who has the final say depend on local and state rules. Ask which steps are still ahead for the project you care about, because a comment only counts at a step that has not happened yet.
How do you expect to vote on the project proposed near us, and what would change that?
Why ask it
Name the project and the street. Some members will say they cannot commit before the hearing, and in certain kinds of zoning cases they may be required to wait; if so, ask what they will be weighing when it comes.
If the project goes ahead, what happens to traffic and parking on the streets around it, and who checked?
Why ask it
Where a traffic study is required, it is often paid for by the applicant and reviewed by city staff, so ask who wrote this one and where you can read it. Bring what you have counted yourself, such as the cars queued outside the school at eight in the morning.
Have you met with the applicant on this project, and are meetings like that disclosed?
Why ask it
More a reporter's question than a resident's, and a fair one. Rules about private contact before a hearing vary by city and by the type of case, so ask what the rule is here and where disclosures are filed.
What can the council require of a developer, and what is it not allowed to ask for?
Why ask it
Residents often ask for conditions the city has no power to impose. What is allowed depends on state law and the local code, so put this to the member and then confirm it with planning staff.
Who gets told when a property near my home is up for rezoning, and how far ahead?
Why ask it
Notice may come by mail to nearby addresses, as a sign on the lot, or only as a line in an agenda. Ask how far the mailing reaches, and whether the office or the planning department keeps an email list you can join.
Where in this district would you support more housing, and where would you oppose it?
Why ask it
Get street names. Then, when a project is filed on one of those streets, you can remind the member of what they told you, which carries more weight at a hearing than a general appeal about housing.
What has the council done about the cost of housing since you took office, and how did you vote on it?
Why ask it
'Since you took office' keeps the answer on votes this member cast and off interest rates or what the state ought to do. Get an item, a date and which way they went; if nothing has come up, ask what they would bring forward and who else would vote for it.
Safety and services
What are people in this district telling you about safety, and what have you done with what you heard?
Why ask it
The first half shows whether the member hears from your part of the district or only from the usual callers. For the second, look for an action with a date: a meeting with the police commander for the area, a budget request, an order for lighting.
What say does the council have over the police department: its budget, its policies, or who leads it?
Why ask it
In many cities the council controls the money and little else, while the chief answers to the mayor or the manager, but charters differ. Knowing which lever this member holds stops you from asking for something they cannot deliver.
Are emergency response times in this district slower than in the rest of the city, and if so, why?
Why ask it
A member may not have the figures to hand but can request them from the departments, so ask for that and for when you will hear back. Get police, fire and ambulance separately, since the reasons one of them is slow rarely explain the others.
Which street or intersection in the district worries you most, and what is planned for it?
Why ask it
If they name the one you were going to raise, you have an ally and can ask what is stalling the fix. If they name a different one, describe yours with the cross streets and what you have seen happen there.
How does a street get a stop sign, a speed hump or a crosswalk, and who makes that call?
Why ask it
The decision often rests with traffic engineers working from set criteria and not with a council vote, though the member's office can ask for the study. Find out whether a petition from the block is required and how long the queue is.
Is my street on the repaving list, and if it is not, how does it get there?
Why ask it
Give the street and the block. Where the city scores its pavement, the member's office can look up your block's score and the year it is scheduled; where it does not, ask who drew up this year's list and whether a call from the council office moves a street up it.
What do residents here call your office about most?
Why ask it
Trash, water bills, streetlights, snow, overgrown lots: the answer changes by neighborhood. Ask what the member did about the top one, and whether the count comes from calls to the office or from the city's request system.
Who enforces the rules on noise, parking and neglected property here, and what do you do when enforcement stalls?
Why ask it
Different complaints can go to code inspectors, parking officers or the police, and callers get bounced between them. Get the right department for your case first, then ask what the council office does when a case has sat open for months.
Is anything planned for the park, the library or the rec center nearest us, and is the money in hand?
Why ask it
Name the one you use. A project with a drawing and no funding can sit for years, so ask which budget year it is in and whether the hours or the staffing change in the meantime.
When a resident calls you about an encampment or someone sleeping outside, what happens next?
Why ask it
Asking for the sequence gets you a procedure instead of a position. Listen for who is sent, where the person is offered a place to go, and whether anyone reports back to the resident who called.
Votes
How did you vote on the item I am here about, and what decided it?
Why ask it
Look up the vote first and name the item and the date, which turns a quiz into a conversation. The reason matters more than the yes or no: a cost, a legal opinion, an agreement with a colleague, or pressure from a group.
When the district is split on an issue, how do you decide which way to vote?
Why ask it
Ask for the last time it happened and what tipped it: the count of calls and emails, a staff report, their own judgment, or who stood to lose the most. That tells you whether more voices or better evidence is what moves this member.
Where can I look up how you voted on past items without watching every meeting?
Why ask it
Minutes, a legislation tracker or the clerk's office are the usual places, and what is posted and how quickly varies. If individual votes are not recorded for some kinds of item, ask which ones and why.
When were you last on the losing side of a vote, and what did you do afterward?
Why ask it
A member who lost and then brought back a narrower version, or went looking for the missing vote, knows how this council works. If no loss comes to mind, ask when they last disagreed with the majority out loud.
What is coming to the council in the next few months that you have not made up your mind on?
Why ask it
For anyone hoping to influence a decision this is the question to bring, because an undecided vote is the only kind you can move. Ask what information would help and offer to send it.
Have you ever stepped aside from a vote because of a conflict of interest, and what are the rules for that here?
Why ask it
A member with an outside job, a business or property in the district has probably run into this, and a specific example is a better sign than 'it has never come up'. Who decides what counts as a conflict differs by state and city, so ask who advises members here and whether a recusal is noted in the minutes.
Who gave the most to your campaign, and do any of them have business in front of the council?
Why ask it
Campaign finance reports are public in many places, so read the filing first if you can and ask where it is posted if you cannot find it. The second half is the real question, and a calm, specific account of how they handle it is a good sign.
Getting help
I have a problem with a city service. Do I start with your office or with the department?
Why ask it
Most offices will tell you to file with the department first and bring them the request number if nothing happens. Ask what the city's reporting line or app is called, and how long it is reasonable to wait before coming back.
Who in your office handles requests from residents, and how do I reach that person directly?
Why ask it
On a council with staff, an aide does most of this work and is easier to reach than the member. Where members have no staff, ask whether email, a phone call or the clerk is the route they answer fastest.
I reported this already and nothing happened. What can your office do that I cannot?
Why ask it
Bring the request number, the dates and a photo. An office can usually ask a department for a status and keep asking, but in some cities members are barred from directing staff, so find out what 'I will look into it' means here.
When and where do you hold office hours or district meetings, and how are they announced?
Why ask it
A newsletter or a text list is worth joining even if you never attend, since it is often the first place a hearing or a road closure is mentioned. If there are no regular hours, ask how to get fifteen minutes on the calendar.
How do I sign up to speak at a council meeting, and what makes a comment stick with you?
Why ask it
Sign-up rules, time limits and whether members may reply all vary, so get the specifics from the member or the clerk. The second half is worth hearing in their own words: some want a story about one address, some a number, some a plain request.
What gets you to take up an issue: one clear email, a petition, or a room full of neighbors?
Why ask it
Members differ, and they will usually tell you. Whatever they say is your next step, so ask how many signatures or households it takes before they treat a problem as the district's and not one person's.
How does an item get onto the council's agenda, and would you sponsor this one?
Why ask it
The route onto an agenda is set by the council's own rules, and it commonly runs through a member, a committee or the administration. Asking for sponsorship directly gets you a yes, a no or a condition, and any of the three is more useful than sympathy.
Which boards and commissions does the council appoint, and is there an opening someone from this district could fill?
Why ask it
Appointed boards such as planning or parks often hear a matter before the council does, and the people on them are usually residents who applied. Ask whether this member nominates anyone, what they look for, and when a term next ends; how the seats are filled is different in every city.
What should I bring you next time so that you can act on this?
Why ask it
The answer is your to-do list: photos, a count of the households affected, a letter from the block association, the request numbers. Send it within the week and mention the date you spoke, so the office has what it asked for and you have a reason to write again.
Could a student shadow your office for a day or apply for an internship?
Why ask it
For the student doing a class interview, this is how one conversation becomes a line on an application. Ask who to write to and what an intern there spends the day on, which is often answering the phone when residents call.
Making a few minutes with your council member count
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Fifteen minutes of homework
Confirm whose district you are in
Ward and district lines get redrawn, and at-large members represent everyone. The city's website or the clerk's office can tell you which member covers your address, and whether there are citywide members you can approach as well.
Check that the council is the right door
Council members get asked about schools, county roads and state taxes all the time, and often there is little they can do about them. If you are not sure who owns your issue, make that your first question and save the rest for whoever does.
Look up one vote or one agenda item
Recent agendas and minutes are normally posted online. Finding the single item closest to your concern, with its date and number, lets you ask about something the member did and not about how they feel in general.
Decide what you want to walk away with
It might be a vote, a meeting with staff, a sponsor for an item, or just the name of the aide who handles requests. Knowing which it is tells you which three or four questions from the list to bring and which to leave at home.
Picking questions for the setting
Public comment at a council meeting
The time limit is short and set by the council's rules, and on many councils the members listen without replying. Use the slot to put one question on the record, say which district you live in, and tell them you will follow up by email.
Office hours or a scheduled sit-down
This is where the Safety and services and Getting help questions belong. Bring the address, the request number and a photo, and expect to be handed to a staff member for the details, which is often the faster route anyway.
A neighborhood forum
Other people in the room have their own streets to raise, so ask the question the most of them share and keep your own case for afterward. The Budget and Development groups work well here because the answer is useful to everyone listening.
A class interview or a story for the paper
Open with the job and the person, then move to votes once the member is talking easily. Ask whether you may record and check the spelling of names and titles. For a story, read the vote record before you sit down so you can ask about a specific item.
What one member can promise
One vote among several
A member can tell you how they will vote and whether they will ask colleagues to join them. They cannot promise an outcome, so the follow-up to any commitment is who else on the council you should be talking to.
Departments carry it out
Potholes are filled and permits are issued by city departments, and in most cities those report to a mayor or a manager, not to the council. A member's office can ask, press and pass along your case, and in some cities asking is as far as its authority goes.
When a member has to stay quiet
On some zoning and licensing cases a council sits more like a hearing panel, and members may be told not to discuss the matter outside the hearing. How that works depends on local and state rules, so if a member declines to talk about a pending case, ask the clerk how to get your comment into the record.
A referral with a name on it
Being sent to a department is often the right outcome, since that is where the work gets done. Leave with the person's name, a phone number and a rough date, and ask the member's office to copy you on whatever it sends over.
Keeping it from fading
Write the same week
Send a short email that repeats your question, what you understood the answer to be, and anything you promised to send. It gives the office something to forward and gives you a date to point to later.
Keep one file
Request numbers, dates, photos and the names of everyone you spoke to belong in one place. The second conversation goes much faster when you can read out the history instead of retelling it from memory.
Come back with neighbors
If the first ask went nowhere, the second should not come from you alone. A letter signed by the households on the block, or four of you at the same office hours, shows the member that the problem belongs to a street and not to one caller. It does not have to be a campaign.
Watch the vote
If your question was about an upcoming item, find the meeting date and check the minutes or the recording afterward. Then tell the member you noticed, whichever way it went, so the office knows someone in the district is following the item.