VALDOSTA – On Thursday, July 11, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mayor John Gayle and the members of the City Council invite and encourage citizens to attend City Council meetings whenever possible because good government depends on the interest and involvement of citizens.

Often people have grievances with how things are going in their city but don’t know how to go about changing things. Attending city council meetings is a great way to start and learn the ropes on how things operate.

The meetings are held upstairs at City Hall and you can pick up a copy of an agenda as you walk in, which will tell you what business will be discussed. You can also call ahead if you have a specific topic to present to the council and be put on the agenda.

Many people don’t take advantage of these critical meetings and don’t realize how much information they can glean from sitting in on these bi-monthly sessions. Citizens are allowed to speak at the end of the meeting following agenda-related business, and are given three minutes (exactly) to speak about whatever they want that is not on the agenda.

City Council meetings are held on the first and third Thursday following the first Sunday of the month, although changes may be necessary to avoid conflict with holidays.  All City Council meetings are open to the general public.