Min Guide to Speaking at City Council

The Mayor and Members of City Council welcome and encourage all Chesapeake residents and interested parties to attend and participate in City Council Meetings. If you would like to speak at an upcoming meeting, read on to learn how to sign up and what to expect.

City Council Meetings are held on the second, third, and fourth Tuesdays of each month except in August, November, and December when meetings only take place on the second and third Tuesdays. Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m., and are held in the City Council Chambers, located on the first floor of City Hall. City Council Meeting Agendas are posted online on the Friday prior to the meeting.

Anyone wishing to speak to City Council must register with the City Clerk's Office prior to 6:30 p.m. on the night of the meeting. Registrations are accepted by phone up until 5:00 p.m. on the meeting dates, but speakers must check in with the City Clerk in the Council Chambers prior to the 6:30 p.m. start of the meeting. To pre-register, please call  during business hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.).

Speakers may also register directly at the meeting, up until the 6:30 p.m. meeting start time.

Citizens may address City Council on any City-related topic at the second and fourth Tuesday meetings. Agenda speakers will be allotted five minutes to address City Council. Non-agenda speakers will have up to five minutes and no fewer than three minutes to address City Council. The specific time available depends upon the total number of non-agenda speakers signed up and will be announced when the first speaker is called upon.

During third Tuesday meetings, City Council considers planning-related items and speakers must confine their remarks to only those items on the official Meeting Agenda.

You are welcome to sit anywhere in the public area of the City Council Chambers. There are marked accommodations for those with disabilities, including a designated area for wheelchair users.

The City Clerk will call your name when it is your turn to speak. Speakers must present their remarks from the podium in the well of the Council Chambers. Speakers with disabilities may use the podium and microphones just inside the doors to the Council Chambers if they choose.

When you begin your remarks, state your name for the record. If you have materials or documents to show City Council, please provide these to the City Clerk when you check in prior to the start of the meeting. You must provide ten copies to be distributed to members of the City Council and for record keeping purposes.