LFP Council Corner – Communicating with Your Council

LFP Deputy Mayor Tom French

From LFP Deputy Mayor Tom French

I hope this finds all of you safe and staying healthy during these difficult times. I thought it timely to provide a brief overview of the variety of methods that you, the citizens of our community, can utilize to effectively communicate with your City Council.

Direct Email: The City Council pages on the city website have each Council Member’s individual email listed as well as an option to email the Council collectively. This is a very effective and efficient means of reaching out to your policy makers.

Sign up for city emails and newsflashes: This is a great way to remain informed. The City website has a signup area for citizens to subscribe to all city emails and newsflashes or just to the topics that interest them.

Public comment: Comment is always welcome at city meetings. Our rules allow each speaker 3 minutes to make their comments.

A couple of very important things to keep in mind when making public comment:

• First, our rules do not allow us to respond directly to questions or inquiries at the time of public comment. This is to protect everyone from getting into an unproductive “back and forth” dialogue.

However, in the case of a specific issue or concern, staff will make a note of the topic and may ask for additional contact information for a follow up.

• Second, please keep it civil and respectful. We all are neighbors who care about each other but occasionally may have a difference of opinion. Our Council prides itself on sometimes disagreeing with each other and members of the community but doing so with respect and civility. Please be kind to your neighbors!

Opportunities for public comment include:

• Regular City Council Meetings (second and fourth Thursdays of the month) early in the agenda
• Council Committee of the Whole Meetings (Monday before the fourth Thursday of the month) at the end of the agenda
• Budget and Finance Committee Meetings (third Thursday of the month) at the end of the agenda
• Public Hearings (held during regular Council Meetings or as necessary) during the hearing
• Town Halls/Open Houses (held as opportunity allows) during the meeting

Other meetings at which public comment is taken:

• Planning Commission Meetings (second Tuesday of the month) near the beginning and at the end of the agenda
• Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meetings (third Wednesday of the month) at the end of the agenda
• Tree Board Meetings (first Wednesday of the month) at the end of the agenda

Keeping informed with social media: The City utilizes several social media platforms to inform the public of what’s going on in the City. Keep in mind that this is for information only and Council Members and staff won’t directly respond to citizen posts or replies to posts by the City.

Other methods of communicating with your City Council: You may use regular mail and send in your comments or call us directly at 206-368-5440.

We represent all of you in the City and it is our privilege to hear what you have to say! Please reach out to us anytime.