City Council

Welcome to the City of Portsmouth's Office of the City Council. City Council is the legislative authority of the City of Portsmouth. Council meetings are held on the second and forth Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. These meetings are held in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. With the exception of executive sessions, as provided for under the state's Sunshine Law, all meetings are open to the public. Council conducts two sessions. The first meeting is a legislative session, and its agenda provides citizens two opportunities to address City Council. The first opportunity allows citizens to speak with regard to any item on the agenda. The second opportunity allows citizens to speak with regard to any item not on the agenda. These opportunities to speak are limited to five minutes per speaker. The second meeting is a work conference session. This meeting provides the opportunity for City administration to make requests of Council with regard to legislation that is needed to conduct the business of the City.

On behalf of City Council, I would like to invite you to attend our meetings. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to call the City Clerk at (740) 354-4706.

City Clerk:

Jo Ann Aeh

Telephone:

(740)354-4706

Fax:

M-F
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Duties:

Except as otherwise provided in the City's Charter, all legislative powers of the City are vested in a Council consisting of one member nominated and elected to a four-year term from each of the six wards. Each member of Council elected or appointed from a ward shall have resided in said ward not less than six months and shall have been a resident of the City for at least five years immediately preceding his election. Duties include the following:

• Inquire into the conduct of any department, office or officer of the City and make investigations as to municipal affairs;

• Provide for public hearings on the draft of an appropriation ordinance based on the budget within ten days after its receipt, after which the proposed appropriation ordinance may be changed or amended by the Council and take the same course and be subject to the same procedure in the Council as other ordinances, but shall not be passed before the first meeting of the Council in January.
•  At the beginning of the fiscal year and before the annual appropriation ordinance has been passed, Council, on written recommendation of the Mayor, may make appropriations for current City expenses, chargeable to the appropriations of the year when passed, sufficient to cover the necessary expenses of the City until the annual appropriation ordinance is in force.
• Transfer unencumbered balance of an appropriation to a purpose or object for which the appropriation for the current year has proved insufficient; or authorize transfer to be made between items appropriated for the same department or office. (No such transfer shall be made of the income of earnings of any public utility owned by the city, and receiving no support from taxation to any other purpose than such utility.)
• If at any time the total accruing revenue of the City shall be in excess of the total estimated income thereof, Council may appropriate such excess to such uses as will not conflict with any uses for which specifically such revenues accrued.
• Upon written recommendation of the Mayor, authorize alterations in work or improvement contracts, when extra work and materials are not provided for in the original contract.
• Establish a schedule of compensation for officers and employees in the classified service which shall provide uniform compensation for like service 
• Provide for the construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of all things in the nature of local improvements and provide for the payment of any part of the cost thereof by levying and collecting special assessments upon abutting, adjacent and contiguous or other specially benefited property.
• Authorize construction or repair of certain specified sidewalks, curbings or gutters.