What Are the Responsibilities of the Mayor and City Council?
The mayor and council members can serve for two four-year terms. That means they can run for re-election only one time.
The mayor and council members have the responsibility of representing not only the people who elected them, but all citizens.
Council members also serve as a resource to the residents of their district, making sure they receive quality services and
helping them to solve problems.
Representing their council district at council meetings is a big responsibility; council members need to understand each issue,
each proposal and how it will affect their district. They spend a lot of time preparing for formal council meetings on Wednesdays.
On Friday, council members receive a packet which has the agenda and many reports with background information. They read the packet,
which is often 100 pages long, over the weekend. (Council members admit that having homework on the weekend is not their favorite
part of the job.)
During the week, council members also attend subcommittee meetings.
Subcommittee means smaller group; each subcommittee has at least three
council members on it. The subcommittee members meet to talk about a
particular issue they think is important. Good ideas often come from
subcommittees. For example, before a new bar or liquor store can be
established in a neighborhood, the residents must be notified and a public
hearing must be conducted. Some citizens were complaining that new bars
were being established and they weren't informed about the public
meeting. No chance was given to express their opinion. When the Ethics and
Public Safety Subcommittee members heard about this, they proposed a
resolution to use new, bigger, neon green signs to tell people
about the public hearing for liquor licenses. The members of the
subcommittee were doing their job of helping government meet the needs
of the citizens.
Council members spend a lot of their time meeting with citizens. Citizens
call their council representative because they have
a
question, a problem
or an issue they want to discuss. The council member and his or her staff
listen to the citizen and try to find a solution. Sometimes it's as easy as
making a phone call to the right department; sometimes it's harder
because the citizen disagrees with another citizen. When two or more
neighbors are in disagreement about an issue, a council member's job is to
help people find a solution. The council member will consult with all of
the people involved, with any city departments that might know about the
situation and with his or her staff.
Besides meeting with citizens to discuss neighborhood issues, council
members also meet with business owners. Business is good for the city,
so council members often meet with business owners who might want to
move to Phoenix. Council members talk about all of the services the city
offers and find solutions to any problems the business might have.
Council members know that citizens also have solutions. Council members spend a lot of their time visiting schools, neighborhood
associations and local events. Talking to citizens about what is going on in Phoenix gives council members a chance to hear what
citizens think about issues such as crime in their neighborhoods, where to put a new park or how to expand the public transportation
system.
