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How to Participate in Virtual Public Meetings
Join Your Local Elected or Appointed Policy Makers in Virtual Public Meetings!
The City of Santa Rosa has several tools available so that residents may view public meetings and provide public comment on agenda items from the comfort of home. Members of the public may provide public comments live during the virtual Zoom meeting OR in advance. Instructions for providing public comment using these various methods is below.
Just Want to Watch or Listen?
If you do not want to participate in live public comment during a meeting, but still want to watch or hear the broadcast of public meetings in session or catch the replay of the recording, there are a few options for doing so:
- TV on Channel 28 for Comcast and Channel 99 for AT&T Done Editing
- YouTube
- Facebook (Available for City Council Meetings Only)
- Online through the City's legislative meeting portal. Refer to the list of "Upcoming Public Meetings" below OR view the full legislative meeting calendar and look to the "Video" column for the link to that meeting's broadcast or recording.
VIDEO: How to Participate in Virtual Public Meetings
How to Provide Public Comment During Virtual Public Meetings
Members of the public may provide public comment live during the virtual public meeting or in advance of the meeting. Here's how to so:Providing Public Comment In Advance of a Meeting
There are a few ways to provide public comment in advance of a Council Meeting or other Public Meeting -- by email, voicemail, or online (City Council Meetings Only).
The deadline and options to submit public comment in advance varies by meeting; therefore, please check the information on each meeting agenda which can be found in the legislative portal here: santa-rosa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
To submit your comment via email:
- Refer to the meeting agenda for email address: santa-rosa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
- When composing your email, in the subject line, include all of the following:
- Name
- Date of Public Meeting
- Agenda Item Number
- And in your message, include:
- Name
- Full comment in 400 words or less
Voicemail
To submit your comment via voicemail:
- Refer to the meeting agenda you wish to comment on to retrieve the correct phone number: santa-rosa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
- Dial that number and when prompted, record your comment in 3 minutes or less and clearly state ALL of the following:
- Your Name
- Name of the public meeting
- Agenda item number
- Full public comment
Online (City Council Meetings only)
To submit your comment online:
- Once the meeting agenda is published, go to SpeakUp Santa Rosa!
- Sign in to SpeakUp Santa Rosa! (upper right corner of the page)
- Click on the comment box next to the agenda item
- Write and submit a comment in 2500 characters or less
Live Public Comment During a Meeting
To make public comment during a virtual Public meeting, take the following steps:
1) Access the meeting
- Virtual public meetings are run in Zoom and each meeting has a unique meeting ID number that provides participant access.
- To obtain this meeting ID, look up the meeting you are trying to access in the City's legislative meeting calendar: santa-rosa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. The meeting ID is located in the meeting "Agenda."
- If watching the meeting from a device, you may click on the Zoom meeting link within the agenda to access the meeting.
- If listening from a phone, 877-853-5257, and then enter the meeting ID when prompted.
- During the meeting, the Mayor or Meeting Chair will announce the opportunity for public comment.
- If watching on a device, use the 'raise hand' feature in Zoom to make a comment.
- If listening from a phone, dial *9 to raise your hand and make a comment. The meeting host will go through raised hands one by one.
- When addressed, clearly state your name and make your comment in 3 minutes or less