Green Bay government is an aldermanic form of government consisting of 12 aldermen representing 12 districts and 50 wards.
Aldermen
Each census year the aldermanic boundaries are re-drawn according to population changes.
Aldermen are assigned seats on standing committees by the Mayor on a 2-year basis. They also serve on various city and non-city committees as council liaisons.
As a Council, they are assigned with the duty to make laws within the city in the form of ordinances for the public good. They may also, at their discretion, rescind any of those laws.
The Council is required to meet at least once a month. Meetings are on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. One of the regular monthly meetings of the Council may be cancelled or rescheduled each month to some other date and time upon 15 days written notice by the Mayor to the Clerk, for good cause, or upon one day notice, in an emergency. Where a regular meeting day falls upon a legal holiday or on a day when an election to public office is conducted in the City, the Mayor shall cause such meeting to be rescheduled.
The Council is governed by Roberts Rules of Order and must follow a strict procedure of order. The order of business for the Green Bay City Council is thus:
Roll Call
Reading and correcting the minutes of the last preceding meeting
Petitions and communications
Appointments and public hearings
Reports of standing committees
Reports of special committees
Resolutions
Ordinances
Adjournment
In Green Bay, the meetings are taped and shown throughout the following week on cable network. Tapes are available for review by request to the City Clerk.
The agenda for the next meeting is set on the previous Friday. The agenda is public record and is published on the city web site along with local news media.
The minutes of each meeting is required by law to be published in local newspapers and is also available on the city web site.
Open meeting laws apply to the City Council and is defined as such: The "Open Meeting" law, as set by Wisconsin State Statues, applies whenever a gathering of members of a governmental body satisfies two requirements: (1) there is a purpose to engage in governmental business, and (2) the number of members present is sufficient to determine the governmental body's course of action. If the Open Meetings Law applies , the govenmental body is required to provide an agenda, noticed to the general public, at least 24 hours in advance. There are some special exceptions to the notice rule.
The governmental body may meet in closed session for certain purposes, such as: quasi-judicial deliberations; considering licensing, employment, promotion or compensation of a public employee, deliberating or negotiating the purchase of public property; or confering with legal counsel with resepct to litigation in which the municipality may become involved.
Aldermen serve 2-year terms and are up for re-election on the even year. Upon election, Aldermen are sworn in by the City Clerk on the second Common Council meeting that April.
Mayor
The office of Mayor is a four-year term with no limit on length of service. The four-year term begins on an odd year. The Mayor takes office on the second council meeting in April with the oath of office being administered by the City Clerk.
The Mayor presides over city council meetings and has the tie breaking vote on issues. He/she appoints council members, subject to council approval, to standing committees on a two-year basis.
The Mayor is responsible for preparation of the Annual City Budget and oversees the functions of city departments. He/she may propose to reorganize/consolidate departments in an effort to streamline services.
The Mayor brings forth his/her agenda of accomplishments and may create advisory commissions/councils to achieve that agenda.
The Mayor serves as a speaker on behalf of the city and engages in many public speaking engagements.
The Mayor's office is a liaison between local, state and federal government and may lobby any for the betterment of the city.
City Officials
For duties of other city officials, see Chapter 1 >> of the City Code Book (indexed). A link to the entire Code Book is available on this page.