• The City Council follows the City Council Rules of Procedure & Code of Conduct. (most recently revised July 7, 2025).

• View the Open Comment Period Participation Guidelines.

• View the Public Hearing Participation Guidelines. 

• Open & Print the 2025 Council Meeting Calendar. 

• Councilmembers serve annual appointments to various committees.

• City Council helps set and guide the City's Vision, Principles, and Priorities.

• Livestream the meeting through the Agenda Management Portal.
  • When the meeting starts, a live "In Progress" link will appear in the "Events" column which takes the viewer to the livestream. 

This Handbook is intended to serve as a reference guide for the Mayor and City Councilmembers in the City of Rochester, MN, operating under the mayor-council form of Government. If your questions are not answered directly by the text, it will hopefully guide you to the relevant publication or to the department that can best help you with your inquiry.

We hope it will serve as a reliable resource to some frequent problems and questions you may have!

The City Council has seven elected members - one Council Member-at-large who serves as the Council President, and six Councilmembers representing one of Rochester's six wards. 

There are two types of Council meetings: Regular Council Meetings and Study Sessions.

• At Regular meetings, the Council votes and makes decisions about City business.  Meetings typically occur on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the Council/Board Chambers at City Hall, with a few exceptions due to holidays.
• At Study Sessions, the Council views presentations on topics important to the City. These meetings typically occur the second and fourth Monday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. in the Council/Board Chambers at City Hall.

Both types of meetings are usually recorded and livestreamed. Agendas, video, and minutes for meetings can be found by clicking here.