Master the Hoboken City Council Meeting

Speaking at your city council meetings is the most effective way to get your voice heard by your representatives and your community.

If you’ve never attended a Hoboken Council meeting before, you have nothing to worry about, this blog will outline everything you need to know and help you get started.

Getting Started

The city council meetings occur bi-weekly on Wednesdays from 7–11 pm. You can find the schedule and directions for joining the meetings here, click on the meeting link to view the meeting’s agenda and directions for how to join.

If you wish to speak, there is a portion of every meeting dedicated to citizen input. If you have a concern you’d like the city council to address, this is the best way to get your voice heard. However, the public portion is not meant for every comment or issue. If you think your topic is not fit for a city council meeting, there might be a subcommittee meeting that pertains to your topic. You can also contact the department you feel is best suited to help you. Another great option is to contact your reps directly. If you still don’t know who to talk to, contact your city clerk, they’ll have an answer for you.

But, odds are if you have a problem you want the city council to hear about, then it’s a great topic to bring to the city council meeting.

How to prepare

Speaking at a city council meeting is undoubtedly daunting, but preparation will put your mind at ease.

Watch a meeting first

If you’ve never gone to a city council meeting before, that is probably a big source of anxiety. If your issue is not time-sensitive, observe a meeting to get a feel for how the public speaking session operates, then at the next meeting, you’ll know exactly what to do. Take note of how citizens conduct themselves, how they talk about their problem and their tone. This will help you write your script.

Do some research

If you are talking about something on the agenda for that night, read the section of the meeting agenda that relates to your concern. If your concern is not on the agenda, a quick google search of “[your problem] Hoboken” will help you get valuable background information.

Talk to People

Talk to friends, neighbors, or colleagues about the problems you are concerned about. Ask them about their experience, this will give you a more complete picture of the issues. To increase your chance of making an impact on your council, ask them to come to speak with you at the meeting. Multiple people speaking about the same issues is common — it strengthens your case and makes the task less daunting.

Write a script

Reading from a script or outline is recommended. It will ensure you say everything you need to say, prevent you from going off-topic, and allow you to control what you say. Answer these questions in bullet form:

• What problem/topic are you speaking about?
• What does the problem look like? Be as specific as possible
• Why are YOU talking about this tonight? Why do you care? Do other people care?
• How has it affected you? How has it affected other people?

This will give you a great starting point on which you can build your speech — or use them as notes and speak from the heart.

What if I don’t get a chance to speak?’

It’s possible that the meeting will end before it’s your turn to speak. Don’t worry, there are other methods to get in contact with your reps.

When things are broken, pointing fingers and saying they’re broken won’t help much. But, talking to the council, and telling them about your experience will do something. They aren’t trying to work against you, without citizen input they’re leading in the dark. By expressing yourself, you help them govern better.

Quae

Quae is on a mission to give people the power to vote every day. Amplify your voice and take action in your community. Coming to Hoboken, NJ.

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