Attending a Council Meeting

City Council Seating Chart.

1. Councilmember Georgia Boggs 2. Councilmember Gretchen Bertschy 3. Councilmember Amanda Dunnem 4. Councilmember Tim Rogers 5. Councilmember Charlie McAfee 6. Councilmember William Weimer 7. Councilmember John DiCostanzo 8. Councilmember Michael Thompson 9. Mayor Nicholas J.  Shelton 10. City Administrator Richard Huff 11. City Attorney Robert Landgraf, Jr.

Agenda
Items to be considered by the Council are listed on the agenda. Because there are so many matters for the Council to discuss, the agenda is prepared in advance. Items will be considered in the order listed on the agenda. Items for Council consideration are submitted to the City Administrator on the Monday Noon prior to a regularly scheduled 2nd or 4th Monday Council meeting.

Public Hearings
Public hearings are scheduled near the beginning of the meeting. We have found that many people do not understand the procedures which the Council uses for conducting public hearings. Individuals often come to Council meetings expecting a public hearing to be held when an item which they are concerned about first appears on the agenda.

If this item requires a public hearing (see partial list below) the only action the Council will normally take when it is first considered is to set the date for a public hearing.

This date may be two or three weeks later. The time is necessary to publish notices in the newspaper which are required by law. It also gives the Council and the City Administration time to gather the necessary information and official documents.

Public hearings are held as part of the following actions:

• Requests for Zoning changes or changes in the zoning ordinance.
• Consideration of special assessment districts for water sewer, lighting, street paving or sidewalk installation.
• Consideration to vacate streets, alleys, public walkways, drains, sidewalks, etc. 
• Consideration of the annual City Budget.

Note: Everyone addressing the Council as part of the Citizen Participation or Public Hearing portion should give their name and address first for the official record of the meeting. A microphone is provided at the center of the room to enable the entire audience to hear your comments. 

Note: Public hearings are not usually held for new ordinances or changes to existing ordinances except for those items listed above. Instead, these are introduced at one Council meeting and adoption of the Ordinance change is usually considered at the next meeting.

Citizen Participation
People often come to Council meetings expecting to present their particular problem and get an immediate answer. Our experience has shown that many of these problems could have been solved much faster if they had been taken up directly with the city department providing the service.

Anyone presenting a problem as "Citizen Participation" should realize that the Council will not have specific information available during the meeting to provide a complete reply.

The Niles City Council does hereby adopt the following rules of procedure to govern right of interested persons to address the council:
At any regular or duly called special meeting of the Niles City Council, other than those meetings not subject to the provisions of the Michigan Open Meetings Act, a person desiring to speak on any item(s) on the agenda may do so subject to the following rules:

1. Prior to addressing the Council, the person must provide, for the record, their name, permanent address.
2. The person must be recognized by the mayor or other presiding officer at the point on the agenda entitled "Citizen Participation."
3. The person will be allowed three (3) minutes to present remarks, unless the time restriction is waived by the Chair.
4. A person wishing to address an agenda item may reserve time to address that item immediately prior to the time that the item is discussed by the Council.
5. A person may be expelled from the meeting for a breach of the peace committed at the meeting, and if during their presentation to the Council becomes loud or unruly, the chair may rule the person is out of order and forfeit the person's opportunity to speak further.

This policy shall be effective for any and all meeting of the Niles City Council, either regular or special, occurring from and after this date.
Resolution 92-22/2003 - Adopted November 23, 1992

Thank you for your interest and participation. All meetings of the City Council are open to the public and are usually attended by members of the new media. Regular meetings are scheduled for the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 6:00 pm in City Council Chambers which is located within the Niles Fire Station Complex at 1345 E. Main Street.

Committee of the Whole
The purpose of the City Council’s Committee of the Whole is to serve as the foundation to provide a forum for detailed analysis and exploration of citywide issues. The membership consists of the Mayor and all Council members.

Additional Meeting Times: Scheduled as Needed