The “public hearing” component of Council Meetings are the most important in my opinion, because it’s the opportunity for you to share your voice. But unless you’ve done it before, it can be a big question mark of how to actually accomplish.

There’s no need to be nervous, however, and here are tips I like to share with folks to help get them comfortable:

  1. The meeting cycle for City Council typically follows the monthly pattern of (a) first Wednesday, a Work Session, (b) second Monday, a regular Council Meeting, and (c) fourth Monday, a second regular Council Meeting. (Occasionally there’s adjustments for holidays or similar, but you can check the City’s meeting page to confirm.)

  2. I mention the monthly pattern, because “public hearing” components do not usually occur in the Work Session, but do occur at the ‘regular’ Council Meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays.

  3. “Public hearing” components usually take one of two forms: Either (a) you sign up to speak about a specific agenda item when it’s arrived at, or (b) you sign up to speak during the “General Public Hearing” agenda item, where you can share on any topic you’d like even if it’s not on that night’s agenda.

  4. Since the Council Meetings that take place on the second Monday of the month are typically held via Zoom, signing up to speak requires that you email the Clerk to the Council no later than 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting (“[email protected]”).

  5. And since the Council Meetings that take place on the fourth Monday of each month are typically held in-person at the Municipal Center (8103 Sandy Spring Road), you can simply add your name to the physical sign-up list just inside the Council Chamber doors when you arrive. (Often as the Council President comes to various agenda items, they’ll also confirm if anyone present wants to speak, though this is not required.)

I hope the above is helpful to demystify how to share your voice at Council Meetings, and please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions — One of my deepest satisfactions comes from helping equip people to participate in the political process as it is ultimately a treasure for all of us to hold dear.