In the State of Massachusetts, M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Sections 18-25 state all governmental bodies must have meetings that are open to the public and readily available to anyone who wishes to attend.
The Massachusetts Open Meeting Law applies to governmental entities at the state and local levels. In general the Law requires that meetings of such entities be open to the public, that notice of such meetings be publicly posted at least 48 hours prior to a meeting (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays and except in an emergency) and that accurate records of the meeting be kept and made available to the public.
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Pursuant to Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021 and in order to ensure active, public engagement, the City of Worcester currently allows for both in-person and remote participation at all City Council and Standing Committee meetings. To partake in the “Public Participation” section of this meeting, you may attend the meeting in-person within the meeting location, or to join via the Virtual Application follow the link or dial the direct phone line and access code as indicated on the meeting agenda.
An individual may petition the City Council on a wide range of topics including the condition of streets and sidewalks, street lighting, public safety, housing, zoning, taxation, traffic, parking and many others.
All City sponsored public meetings and hearings must be held in locations that are accessible to people with disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs.
Persons with disabilities are invited to make their needs known to program staff or to the ADA Coordinator should they need:
Through a partnership with Ascentria Language Bank, City employees have access to telephonic and face to face interpreters in 90 different languages. Community members can request an interpreter at any time. Access to telephone interpreters will take no longer than five minutes and face to face interpreters will need to be requested at least 48 hours in advance.
The City of Worcester recognizes the rights of all individuals to participate in the political and civic life free from bigotry and intimidation based on their race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or other aspect of their being. As civic leaders we do not condone or approve of unwanted, unwelcome and inappropriate language, bigotry, hate, epithets, profanity, etc. that interferes with a standard of conduct that promotes respectful, inclusive and civic engagement in all City Council Meetings and Public Forums.
Beginning in January 2002 supporting documentation for City Council and City Council Standing Committee agenda items are available via the "Attachments" hyperlink next to an item on the agenda face.
Beginning with the 2020-2021 City Council, the Standing Committees were reorganized. The reorganization included merging Municipal Operations and Rules & Legislative Affairs into the Committee on Municipal & Legislative Operations and merging Youth, Parks & Recreation and Veterans' & Military Affairs into the Committee on Veterans' Memorials, Parks & Recreation. In addition, the Committee on Urban Technologies, Innovations & Environment was added.
As of August 11, 2020, the Commission on Disability was renamed to the Accessibility Advisory Commission.
As of October 6, 2020, the GAR Hall Board of Trustees and the Memorial Auditorium Board of Trustees were reorganized and combined to form a new Commission for the Preservation of Historic Artifacts, Relics and Military Memorials.
