Whether you live in a city or not, you likely have a say in decisions made by your local government. That’s because city council — also known as a municipal council, town board, aldermen or board of selectmen — makes laws that determine what can be built where (like those tall apartment buildings in your neighborhood) and where different kinds of businesses can operate (like the liquor store next to your school). City council members are democratically elected to make these decisions for their constituents.
The council’s legislative work happens mainly in committee meetings and hearings, which are where lawmakers dig deep into the policies and practices of the city agencies they oversee. Each council member is assigned — by a vote of all Council Members — to serve on various committees and subcommittees, with each committee chaired by a Council Member.
If a bill passes through the committee process, it goes to the full council for debate and a vote. If the majority of Council Members, or 26 of 51, vote in favor of it, the bill becomes law. If the mayor vetoes it, the council can override the veto by getting two-thirds of its members, or 34, to vote in favor of it.
Observers have pointed to the council’s override of the mayor’s veto of a package expanding eligibility for housing vouchers and its revival of a commission aimed at closing Rikers Island as examples of it fulfilling its role as co-equal check on City Hall. But critics have said that the council could be far more aggressive in its oversight and investigative roles.