Raleigh

Overview

The City of Raleigh is a municipality in Wake County and the capital of North Carolina. Raleigh follows a council-manager form of government and is run by a City Council. The City Council is made up of seven council members and a mayor. Councilors and the mayor are elected by residents of Raleigh for two-year terms. Five of the council members are elected by residents in their district, while three members, including the mayor, are elected at-large. The Town Council is responsible for appointing the City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney. The City Manager is then responsible for hiring all other city staff members.

The Raleigh City Council meets for regular afternoon sessions on the first and third Tuesday at 1:00 pm, while regular evening sessions are held on the first Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Work sessions take place on the second Tuesday at 4:00 pm and the third Tuesday at 11:30 am. All City Council meetings take place in the Raleigh Municipal Meeting (222 W. Hargett St. Raleigh, NC 27601). Agendas can be found here.

Citizens can participate in City Council meetings by providing public comments, either in person or virtually. In-person commenters must sign up before 3:00 pm on the Friday before the meeting. You can sign up by calling 919.996.3040 or by filling out either of these forms: Second Tuesday at 7 form or ​​Third Tuesday at 1 form. Remote commenters should call 855.925.2801 and enter code 3362 between 5:00 pm on Thursday and 5:00 pm on Monday before a Tuesday Council meeting.

Raleigh has numerous boards and commissions that citizens can apply to serve on. Applications are found on each board page and vacancies can be found here. The Town Council appoints members of these boards and commissions after reviewing applications.

Raleigh citizens can also apply for the Community Connector Program. Those hired for this program work to expand the reach of Raleigh’s engagement efforts.