Hybrid City Council Meetings

How to Participate in Hybrid Meetings

City Council Work Sessions, Regular meetings, Committee of the Whole meetings, and Budget and Finance Committee meetings can be attended in person at City Hall or virtually via Zoom. Zoom information is available on each agenda.

The Council Chambers will be open to the public during Council meetings.

All other City meetings are also now being held in the hybrid format. For information about how to participate in the City’s other hybrid meetings, click on the appropriate link:

For information about how to participate in the City’s other virtual meetings, click on the appropriate link:

Planning Commission, Council Budget and Finance Committee, Tree Board, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Climate Action Committee

Public Comment at Regular City Council Meetings

Citizen Comments

The opportunity for oral Citizen/Public Comment is provided in person in the council chambers and on the Zoom platform during the City Council meetings by either signing up prior to the meeting (see instructions, below) or using the “raise hand” function during the public comment portion of the agenda. 

Written public comments received by 5:00 pm on the day of a City Council meeting will be sent to the City Council prior to the meeting; otherwise, they will be sent to the City Council the next day.  Because there is the opportunity to provide oral public comments during the meeting, written comments are no longer read out loud during the meeting as they had been when the City first started virtual City Council meetings. 

To provide an oral Citizen Comment remotely, please sign up on the electronic sign-in sheet between 12:00 and 5:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting, and then join the meeting through the Zoom application by computer, mobile device, or telephone. The Zoom webinar information for each meeting is provided on the agenda. A request to speak can also be made directly to the City Clerk at 206-368-5440 before 5:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting.

Oral Citizen Comments will also be accepted from those who have not pre-registered. After everyone who signed up has commented at the meeting, the Mayor or designee will call for additional testimony by anyone that has not already spoken, by asking meeting attendees to “Raise their Hand” in Zoom. Instructions on how to raise a hand (over the computer and the telephone) will be provided by the Presiding Officer at the time they call for unsigned speakers.

Persons who attend the meeting via telephone and wish to provide oral comments will need to use *9 to raise/lower a hand and *6 to mute/unmute.

Speakers providing oral comments must have their full name fully displayed within the Zoom application. Anonymous comments will not be allowed.

When it is time for Citizen Comments, your name will be called to speak, and the City Clerk will unmute you (if you are attending via Zoom). Please begin your comments by stating your name and any organization represented. Please be advised that your comments are being recorded; each speaker is allotted three (3) minutes. The City Clerk will serve as the timekeeper and will notify you when your time has expired.

Click here to sign up on the Citizen Comments electronic sign-in sheet between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

Public Hearing Comments

The City Council will accept both oral and written comments for its public hearings. Written comments will not be read aloud, but will be forwarded to the City Council as indicated below.

Written Comments - To submit a written Public Hearing Comment, send an email to the City Clerk. Written comments that are received prior to 5:00 p.m. on the day of the Public Hearing will be sent to the City Council prior to the public hearing.

Oral Testimony – To provide Oral Testimony remotely, please sign up on the electronic sign-in sheet between 12:00 and 5:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting, and then join the meeting in person or through the Zoom application by computer, mobile device, or telephone. The Zoom webinar information for each meeting is provided on the agenda. A request to speak can also be made directly to the City Clerk at 206-368-5440 by 5:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting.

Oral Public Testimony will also be accepted from individuals who have not pre-registered. After everyone who signed up has testified at the hearing, the Mayor or designee will call for additional testimony by anyone that has not already spoken by asking hearing attendees to “Raise their Hand” in Zoom. Instructions on how to raise a hand (over the computer and the telephone) will be provided by the Mayor or designee at the time they call for unsigned speakers.

Persons who attend the meeting via telephone and wish to provide oral comments will need to use *9 to raise/lower a hand and *6 to mute/unmute.

Speakers providing oral comments must have their full name fully displayed within the Zoom application. Anonymous comments will not be allowed.

When it is time for oral Public Testimony, your name will be called to speak, and the City Clerk will unmute you. Please begin your comments by stating your name and any organization represented. Please be advised that your comments are being recorded; each speaker is allotted three (3) minutes. The City Clerk will serve as the timekeeper and will notify you when your time has expired.

Click here to sign up on the Public Hearing electronic sign-in sheet between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day of the hearing.

Meetings Calendar

Please check the City’s online Meetings Calendar for the most up-to-date information about individual meetings.

Questions? Email the City Clerk’s Office.