Official Web Site of the City of Phoenix

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.

Last modified on 06/08/2006 14:53:45