The City of Santa Rosa takes pride in its commitment to fostering transparency and accessibility. To this end we offer various avenues for public engagement, including in-person participation, virtual sessions via Zoom, and submission of comments via email, all of which precede our public meetings.

Regrettably, the City of Santa Rosa’s City Council meeting on the evening of Sept. 26, 2023, was marred by a series of disruptive and off-topic comments, many of which contained hate speech. The comments were entirely unrelated to the City’s official business and seemed to be part of an organized effort to disrupt our public proceedings. In response to this, our City staff issued warnings to the individuals providing these comments, urging them to refocus their remarks on relevant matters, with the caveat that we would proceed to the next public comment if they continued to deviate from the intended discourse.  

Mayor Natalie Rogers expressed strong concerns regarding the comments made during the recent City Council meeting. She emphasized the City’s unwavering commitment to fostering a loving, inclusive and diverse community that embraces belonging. Mayor Rogers reiterated the importance of community engagement but emphasized the necessity of maintaining a safe environment for both staff and residents.  

In pursuit of these goals, the City will continue to encourage public participation and uphold its commitment to transparency. However, the City will discontinue the acceptance of public comments through Zoom platform or digitally recorded messages. Moving forward, all public comments must be provided in person or via email, in accordance with the guidelines outlined in future public meeting agendas.

Here's how the community can participate in the City of Santa Rosa’s public meetings: 

1. Visit https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx for a complete list of the City’s public meetings. 
2. Join the City in person at the meeting location outlined on the agenda. 
3. Review each meeting agenda for additional participation operations, which can include sending an email comment, watching on YouTube, Zoom or on the City's government access channel aired on Comcast Channel 28 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99.