The City of Omaha operates with a Mayor-Council form of Government. The Mayor runs the executive side of government by appointing Directors to the various City Departments and managing all city functions. The City Council is the Legislative side of government whose role it is to make policy changes to the City Code and Charter and approve contracts and department expenditures over $20,000. In addition,they must approve a City budget and set the property tax rate each year. They operate as a seven-member Board and are elected to four-year terms. They meet almost every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. to vote on approximately 50-100 items.

Legislation

In order for a measure to be approved, it must pass with a four-person majority. Once a measure is passed, it is sent to the Mayor for approval. If it is vetoed by the Mayor, then the Council must have a five-person majority to override a mayoral veto or the measure fails.

Public Meetings

The City Council is unique in that they are essentially the last step in the approval process and they meet in the Legislative Chambers(Auditorium) so that the public can speak on issues before the City Council votes. Only items that are contained on the weekly agenda are brought up for public discussion. There are typically two types of measures brought before the council – Ordinances and Resolutions:

• Ordinances – according to the Home Rule Charter, an Ordinance must be read at least three times before a vote of the council is taken. The first reading of an Ordinance is for public notification. The second reading is for the public hearing. The third reading is for the City Council to vote. Although these readings tend to be consecutive in order, this is not always the case. You should contact the City Clerk to verify second reading dates for public testimony.
• Resolution – a Resolution appears on the agenda once and the public hearing is held during this first reading.
• Consent Agenda – many Ordinances and/or Resolutions are combined together on what is known as a consent agenda. There is only one vote taken on a consent agenda. Unless a Councilmember request a particular item to be removed from this group, all measures will be voted on at the same time. Likewise, the public hearing for all items is held at the same time. The consent agenda is usually reserved for routine business.

View the Rules of Order for the City Council of the City of Omaha.