What is the job of a councilmember?

‍The jobs and functions are diverse and multifaceted and there is a set of skills that are beneficial.

Primary job is to show up at twice monthly council meetings for about 6 hours each session. During these meetings we listen to public and staff, ask questions of staff, discuss issue with the other council members on the dais, vote on items that need approval to move forward, and give direction to staff as needed.

The week before the meeting we read all the staff reports and added materials to each item on the agenda, which can run over 100 pages of technical material, write out questions for staff by the Thursday before the Monday meeting, and read staff responses before the Monday meeting starts.

After the meeting, we track the progress of the actions voted on and directed by council. We tend to specialize in issues concerning our district and personal interest.

Many times, we meet in closed session before the public meeting to work on legal and personnel issues, esp. those issues with privacy constraints. Once a year we review the 3 employees (city manager, city attorney, and city clerk) and set their salaries in closed session. Final decisions get reported out while actions still in play go unreported.

We get to ask for committee assignments we prefer, and the mayor assigns us each 2-3 trying to balance knowledge, interest, and skill set with committee mission. These committees usually meet once a month for 2-3 hours. We report out on these meetings at each council meeting.

We are also expected to attend as many activities and events as possible where we meet residents, gather information, help nonprofit organizations, and promote city business and activities.

We participate in many training sessions, webinars, and read outside materials as part of the learning process for what is needed and how to get things done. We have to become familiar with all the major issues including environmental hazards, city planning, operations efficiencies, financial analyses, legal system with city, state, and federal laws and practices, housing, construction and permitting processes, tourism, homeless services, senior care, recreational associations and needs, parks management, open space funding, impacts of national and global politics, and much more.

This is why it takes at least 2 years to learn the job and become effective.

This website has a good list of the functions and skills of city councilmembers.