City council is an elected body that makes decisions that impact your daily life. If you want to learn more about who your local legislators are and how they work, you can tune into debates, attend a town hall, or follow their websites.

Cities use city councils to pass laws and provide oversight of various agencies and services. They may also establish boards or commissions to solve specific problems. For instance, a city might create a special panel to study the feasibility of turning a neighborhood’s former industrial buildings into apartments. City councils can impose zoning regulations that determine what gets built where (can you build tall apartment buildings in a neighborhood of single-family homes?) and regulate what types of businesses can be opened where (do you need a liquor license to open a coffee shop?).

In some cities, a mayor serves as the chief executive of the city and has veto power over council legislation. In other cities, the mayor functions more like a parliamentary leader or president and oversees the council’s day-to-day operations.

Most American city councils have multiple standing committees and subcommittees with a wide range of jurisdictional responsibilities. Each city council member sits on one or more of the committees, and the speaker and council president are ex officio members of all committees. Each committee holds meetings that are public. The council’s office prepares summary minutes that document the proceedings, decisions and actions taken during a meeting. The minutes are written to be concise, provide a historical record, and comply with the city’s ethics code.