City councils need agenda numbering that respects state municipal code, public comment under Robert's Rules, and documentation that survives an audit — without billing your city like a Fortune 500.
Everything a council needs in one flat plan — no add-on modules, no separate "ordinance management" tier.
Sequential numbering with configurable prefixes, year rollover, and separate sequences for ordinances vs resolutions. The system tracks the next available number across meetings — no more spreadsheets.
Motion-second-discussion-vote is the default. Motion types (approve, deny, table, postpone, no action) are one click. Per-member vote is recorded in seconds, including roll-call format if your charter requires it.
Citizens sign up online or in person. The clerk runs the queue inside Govably during the meeting — name called, time tracked, topic noted. The list flows into the official minutes automatically.
Tagged, accessible PDFs by default — meeting WCAG 2.1 AA per the 2024 DOJ rule on ADA Title II digital content. The public portal is keyboard-navigable and screen-reader compatible.
Drafts the official minutes from the votes the clerk recorded. Attendance, motion language, vote tallies, public comment — all in the format your council already uses, ready before you leave the chamber.
Constituents follow along in real time without a login. Motions, votes, and item status update live — even residents who can't make it to chambers can see what their council is doing.
Mayor-and-council, council-and-manager, commission, charter, general law — every state and city does this differently. Govably configures around how your council actually meets: which seats vote, who chairs, who breaks ties, which items go to consent and which to action, what counts as a public hearing, and how your minutes are styled. We adapt to your charter; we don't ask your charter to adapt to us.
Most cities still run public comment off a paper sign-up sheet at the door. Govably gives you a sign-up form on the citizen portal that opens when you say it opens and closes when you say it closes. Speakers see their position in line. The clerk runs the queue from a screen. Time per speaker is enforced visually. The list saves into the official minutes with topic and time. No more squinting at a clipboard.
If your meeting ends at 9:30 p.m. and the minutes are typed up two days later, you're paying for the meeting twice — once during, once after. Govably's AI Minutes Builder takes the votes the clerk recorded live and produces a draft of the official minutes — attendance, motions, vote tallies, public comment, ordinance and resolution numbers — in the city's preferred format. What used to be a half-day of typing becomes a fifteen-minute proofread.
Comparing options for your city?
15-minute demo. We'll walk through a real city council meeting cycle — agenda posting, packet, public comment, motions, ordinance numbering, official minutes.
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