Guide to Town Council Meetings

Attending a Council meeting might seem daunting, but the public's input is crucial. The Town strongly encourages you to share your thoughts on any Town matters. This guide is designed to demystify the public process.

The Town Council agenda is separated into these sections:

• Public Comment
• Presentations
• Consent Calendar
• Discussion Items, and
• Council Reports

Public Comment

During the meeting, the Mayor will invite public comments for topics not listed on the agenda. This is your opportunity to express concerns or issues that are not on agenda for that night. Council might acknowledge your comment, briefly respond to a question, pass it to staff for further review, or decide to discuss it in a future meeting.

Presentations 

Presentations are casual segments of the agenda where the Council doesn't need to take any action. Although it's not usual, the Mayor might permit public comments during presentations. If you want to speak about a presentation, you can ask the Town Clerk to let the Mayor know before the meeting begins.

The Consent Calendar

The Consent Calendar includes routine items that are usually approved together by the Council with one motion. If you want to discuss an item on the Consent Calendar, you can "pull" it from the calendar when the Mayor asks for this option. Simply raise your hand, and the Mayor will recognize you.

Discussion Items

Discussion items are topics where staff will offer more details, are unusual, complex, or require a public hearing. The Mayor will invite you to speak on each discussion item as the Council reviews it. When the Mayor "Opens Public Comment" or "Opens the Public Hearing" for each item, you are encouraged to share your thoughts.

For All Public Comments

Our meetings are broadcasted on television, so please approach the speaker's podium and speak clearly into the microphone. Please line up behind others who also wish to speak. When it's your turn, state your name clearly for the record. Each person is allowed one chance to speak per agenda item, and your speaking time shall not exceed three minutes. You'll hear a long beep over the public address system when your time is up.

If you would like to submit public comment, please use the Public Comment Form. If you have written material or handouts for Council, you can email them to the Town of Truckee, or email the Town Clerk directly. Alternatively, you may submit written material to the Town Clerk during the meeting, and they will distribute it to the members at the appropriate time. All submitted material becomes part of the official record.