Lacey City Council

REGULAR MEETINGS

The Council conducts its official business, enacting laws and approving policies during regular Council meetings. Regular Council meetings occur the first and third Tuesday of the month. All regular meetings begin at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Lacey City Hall, 420 College Street SE. Meeting may occur in person, remotely, or a combination of both.

Regular meetings follow a formal and specific format. During a Regular Meeting, Councilmembers make a formal vote on items previously discussed at Worksessions, or Special Sessions. Councilmembers also adopt previous meetings minutes, and present proclamations, ordinances, and resolutions. During Regular Meetings, members of the public have an opportunity to make official comments to the Council during the Public Comment agenda item.

WORKSESSIONS

Worksessions provide an opportunity for the full Council to review and discuss issues in depth without taking official action. Council Worksessions occur on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. All meetings begin at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Lacey City Hall, 420 College Street SE. Meetings may occur in person, remotely, or a combination of both.

During Worksessions, City Council Members discuss topics, receive briefings, reports and memorandums from City staff as well as hear presentations from City staff and outside organizations. The Council follows Robert’s Rules of Order during their meetings to allow for courtesy and orderly flow of the meetings. Although most formal Council action occurs at regular Council Meetings, the Council may make decisions and take official action at Council Worksessions.

OTHER MEETINGS

Periodically, the City Council holds Special Meetings. During these meetings, only the items listed on the agenda may be discussed. 

City Council holds Executive Sessions for items such as property acquisition, personnel issues, and potential litigation. Executive Sessions are closed to the public. No final action can be taken during an executive session.

The public may attend* the Lacey City Council meetings in person in the Council Chambers of Lacey City Hall, 420 College Street SE, or by watching on the following platforms:

• LaceyTV 77
• City Website
• Roku
• Amazon Fire Stick
• YouTube
• Facebook

*Please refer to the individual meeting agenda for detailed instructions regarding attending the meeting(s).

The City provides reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.

To request an accommodation or written materials in an alternate format, contact the City Clerk at least seventy-two (72) hours before the meeting to discuss any necessary accommodations. You can reach the City Clerk by phone (360) 486-8704 or email cityclerk@cityoflacey.org.

For vision or hearing-impaired services contact the Washington State Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6384.

In-Person: Verbal public comment can be provided in-person at Regular Meetings (1^st and 3^rd Tuesdays) and Worksessions (2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays). Individuals can register at the sign-up sheet in the Council Chambers. See policy below on opportunities for those that do not pre-register.

Remote:
Verbal public comment can be provided remotely at Regular Meetings (1^st and 3^rd Tuesdays) and Worksessions (2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays). Individuals can preregister using the link provided on the meeting agenda. Instructions and access details will be provided once registration is complete. Registration for remote verbal public comment closes at 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

Written: Written public comments may be submitted by email to publiccomment@cityoflacey.org. Written comments will be provided to the City Council electronically prior to a Regular, or a Worksession meeting. Written public comments are not addressed during the Council meeting but are added to the official record. Written public comments must be submitted by 4 p.m. the day of the meeting.

The City Council Policies and Procedures Manual provides the following for Public Comment:

“Public Comments

During Public Comment, individuals may address the Council regarding matters connected to City business, including on specific agenda items. Some agenda topics have Public Hearings. Public comment on these items should be given during these Public Hearings.

The following rules apply to public comment:

1. The Presiding Officer will determine the order of receiving comments (e.g., individuals that signed-in in-person first, individuals that pre-registered remotely second, etc.).  Speakers are called forward in the order in which they signed-in or pre-registered.

2. All individuals providing comment must provide:

• Name
• City of residence or connection to the City, and

• Topic or subject matter of their comments.

3. Individuals providing comment in-person or remotely are limited to three minutes. Individuals may not donate time to another speaker. The City will mute the microphone of individuals that continue beyond this time limit.  The Presiding Officer may provide a verbal reminder that the time limit is exhausted and that the individuals must end their comments (e.g., “Thank you for your comment, your time has expired and we need to now move on to the next comment [or agenda item].  A city staff member will connect with you regarding your comments.”).

Public Comment is allotted for a total of thirty minutes.  This period may end before this time if all registered individuals have had the opportunity to speak.   This time allotment may be extended at the discretion of the Presiding Officer, with the consent of the Council.  The Presiding Officer, with the consent of the Council, may also add an additional Public Comment period as the final agenda item of a Regular meeting.

The Presiding Officer, provided there is time, with the consent of the City Council, may ask individuals that did not sign-in in-person to provide public comment.

4. The following are prohibited at Public Comment:

• Addressing topics that have specified Public Hearings.
• Electronic or physical presentations, recordings, or props are not allowed. Banners and signs are allowed along the back wall as long as they do not impede the view or the Council’s work.
• Disruptions or interruptions (including, clapping, cheering, booing, interrupting speakers, candidate endorsements) are not allowed. The Body maintains the ability to stop people from speaking to the Body when not recognized by the Body to speak.
• Specific threats of violence targeted against a person or group with a reasonable fear of harm to person or property, or sexual harassment.”

(Emphasis added)

City Council Policy

In 2011, the Lacey City Council adopted the City Council Policies-Procedure Manual to standardize the process for implementing current and new Council practices, procedures, and policies. The General Government Committee reviews the manual annually. If there are any revisions, they are sent to full Lacey City Council for final approval. The City Council Policies-Procedure Manual was last updated in 2023.