When an item is considered by the City Council, there is always an opportunity for the public to weigh in. In fact, there are often several opportunities.

Items usually work their way through one or more other bodies, such as the Planning Board, the Historic Preservation Board, a Council Committee, or another board, committee, or task force, before coming to the Council, and public comment is accepted throughout the process. 

The City Council itself takes public comment on items in a few  different ways.

  Here's a primer on when you can expect opportunities for public comment  before the Council or a council committee, how a public hearing or public comment period works, and how to contact councilors directly if you don't wish to testify in a public setting. 

On April 24, 2018, the Portland City Council's Health & Human Services and Public Safety Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed mandatory paid sick leave ordinance. For more about where the committee is in the process of reviewing that ordinance, see my April 19th Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Update. To find out how the public comment period will work, read on!