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The City Council is the Legislative branch of government of the City of Bridgeport. Two major responsibilities of the council are enacting ordinances necessary to ensure the welfare and good order of the city, and, adopting the city's annual budget.
The twenty members of the city council are elected by residents of the ten council districts of Bridgeport. As council members, they represent the concerns, needs, and issues of their constituents, and work to improve the city's neighborhoods.
Duties as a City Council Member:
In choosing to serve on the City Council, each member has decided to give their personal time to serve the community. Every City Council Member is required to attend all City Council meetings and those of the Committees on which they serve. According to the City Charter, the Mayor or the presiding officer (City Council President or Committee Chair) has the power to issue a warrant in order to have the Sheriff bring absent Council members to meetings or constitute a quorum. (Chapter 5.5 (c). The Present Council members also have the power “to make any orders to compel the attendance of Council members and to summon all Necessary assistant” (Chapter 5.5 (c).
City Council President
The Council President presides over the City Council in the Mayor’s absence. The Council President is also responsible for defining the directions of the City Council and insuring the City Council is working to the best of it’s ability to handle business in an orderly and timely fashion. Council President appoints all standing and special committees of the council in accordance with Council Rules.
Committees
Committee Co-chairs:
The effectiveness of the Council lies in its leadership and the ability of the Council President and the Committee co-chairs to work and communicate effectively. Committee Chairs have the following responsibilities:
- Schedule Committee meetings with the City Clerk’s office with at least 5 days notice.
- Submit a meeting’s agenda to the City Clerk’s office no later than 5 days before the meeting.
- Submit the minutes no later than 2 days after the scheduled meeting. If the item needs to go on the city council agenda, it needs to be turned in on Wednesday before the meeting regardless of the two-day time period.
- Insure that Fellow committee members sign off on reports in a timely manner.
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