Newport News City Council

All council meetings open to the public (but not all allow public comment). Placards, banners, and signs are banned at meetings

“Citizen comments on matters germane to the business of city council” are allowed as part of the prescribed agenda on every regular meeting, but not special meetings or work session meetings.

Ordinances

Process

1. Submission: Need 1 sponsor to submit: “Any member of the council desiring to submit an ordinance or resolution to the council shall submit it in writing under the regular order of "new business," and such ordinance or resolution shall be signed by the member sponsoring it, and it shall not be regarded as before the council for action thereon before it has been read at least once by its title or otherwise.”
2. Vote: Majority needed. “No ordinance, resolution, motion or vote shall be adopted by the council except at a meeting open to the public and, except motions to adjourn, to fix the time and place of adjournment and other motions of a purely procedural nature, unless it shall have received the affirmative votes of at least four (4) members. All voting, except on procedural motions, shall have the ayes and nays recorded in the journal.”
3. Taking effect: “All ordinances and resolutions passed by the council shall, unless another date is specified therein as the effective date and except as otherwise provided in the city charter, be in effect on the tenth day following their passage.”

Public comment: People must register with the city clerk at the entrance before the meeting, giving name and address. There is a 3 minute speaking limit. There is nothing about remote meetings or comments in the code.

Council Members

Council in 2025

Mayor: Phillip Jones (Term: Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)

Vice Mayor: Curtis D. Bethany III (Term: Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)

Councilman Robert Coleman (Jan 01 2025 - Dec 31 2028)

Councilman John R. Eley III (Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)

Councilman Marcellus L. Harris III, D. Div. (Jan 01 2025 - Dec 31 2028)

Councilman Cleon M. Long, P.E. (Jan 01 2023 - Dec 31 2026)

Councilwoman Tina L. Vick (Jan 01 2025 - Dec 31 2028)