Walk It Through: The Public Meeting
An agenda 72 hours ahead, nothing taken up off it, and no secret ballot.
A resident wants to know what the city council will take up at its next regular meeting.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One regular meeting of a city council. Closed sessions, special and emergency meeting notice, the public's right to address the body, and the remedies for a violation are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Posted agendaThe list a legislative body posts at least 72 hours before a regular meeting, with a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed, including items for closed session.
- Secret ballotA vote whose result is not tied to the member who cast it. No legislative body of a local agency may take action by secret ballot, whether preliminary or final, and the body publicly reports each member's vote or abstention.