The regular meeting of the City Council is a vital part of the democratic process in the conduct of the City’s affairs. It is at Council meetings that laws, policies and basic decisions are made for the government of Gillette. All meetings of the City Council are open to the public except those exempted by law (referred to as executive sessions), and citizens are encouraged to attend to learn more about their City government at these meetings and at public workshops, which are scheduled for more intense discussion and review.
Regular City Council meetings are held in the Council Chambers on the first floor of City Hall, 201 E. 5th Street, at 7:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month, as set forth by resolution. If the Monday in question falls on a holiday, Council meetings are conducted the following Tuesday.
The City Council also meets regularly in two other types of session, both of which are also open to the public. The first of these meetings, known as the breakfast meeting, is held in the 3rd floor conference room of City Hall on the Wednesdays of each month preceding the regular meeting of the Council at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. The purpose of these meetings is twofold: to brief the Council on the anticipated agenda items for the coming regular meeting and to interact with a “guest”. The review of the agenda items with the Council often results in staff following up on requests for additional information from the Council on a particular agenda item and providing that information either through General Information or at the City Council pre-meeting. The guests at breakfast meetings tend to be the advisory boards and commissions, which are appointed by the Council, representatives of the non-profit organizations supported by the City, or other entities in the community which provide a program or service which might interest the Council. The attendance of these groups at breakfast meetings provides the Council an opportunity to learn more about a particular group or program and ask questions regarding the same.
The second of these meetings is referred to as the “pre-meeting”. These meetings are conducted immediately prior to the Council’s regular meeting (at 7:00 p.m.) on the same night as the regular meeting. The meetings are held in the 3rd floor conference room of City Hall and serve the purpose of providing the Council any last minute information on a particular agenda item.
The City Council meeting agenda is the official order of business at Council meetings. Items for the agenda are prepared and submitted to the City Administrator by the department heads. The Mayor and City Administrator then discuss the proposed content of the regular meeting agenda as well as any possible “warm up” items that might need to be discussed with the Council.
City Council meeting agendas are available from the City Clerk and at the entrance to the Council Chambers before each meeting and are posted on the City’s web site.
City Council meeting minutes will be available after the City Council has approved them in the following meeting.