Political evenings

Session Actualities & Questions (7 p.m.)

On the evening that a Political Evening includes a council meeting, the Political Evening starts with a Current Affairs & Questions session. During this session, council and civic members get answers to the questions they have asked the College of Mayor and Aldermen beforehand. These are usually fairly simple and topical questions. Question & Answer has a less formal character than "Written Questions". After the college answers those questions, there is an opportunity for council members to discuss current affairs with each other as well.

This session is open to the public and will take place in the council chamber. Interested parties may attend as observers. If no questions are submitted in advance, this session will be cancelled.

Informational, advisory, imaging and judgment sessions (from 7:30 p.m.)

During a Political Evening without a council meeting, the City Council discusses up to 6 different topics in so-called sessions. If the Political Evening does include a council meeting, a maximum of 2 sessions take place. 

If a session deals with a subject on which no decision (or no decision yet) needs to be made, the discussion takes place in an informative or advisory session. If the council does need to make a decision, the council proposal is discussed in a deliberative session.

Each group delegates 1 representative to a session. This can be a council member or a citizen member. Thus, at each session there are a maximum of 8 participants. Each session is chaired by a session chair and he is assisted by a session clerk.

A maximum of 45 minutes is normally reserved for each session. For simple topics, this can sometimes be shortened to a maximum of 30 minutes and for extensive or complex topics we reserve up to sometimes 90 minutes.

Informational session

In an information session, the City Council is briefed by the college on a topic. This may be an explanation of the status of a particular project, or a presentation on a topic that is about to start. In any case, it is always about a subject on which the council does not (or not yet) have to decide.

An informational session is open to the public. Interested parties may attend as listeners.

Advisory session

In an advisory session, the college gauges how city council members view a policy issue or solution. For example, in the run-up to a council proposal or on an issue on which the college itself may decide. The college presents a number of questions, with or without options. The council (or better: the representatives of the political groups present) is asked for a response, but this is emphatically not a council decision.

An advisory session is open to the public. Interested parties may attend as observers.

Imaging session

Concrete proposals from the college on which the council must decide go through the PDO model: Image formation - Judgment formation - Decision formation. Image formation is about the council being able to get a good picture of the proposal. What is it about and (sometimes just as important) what is it not about. What are the consequences of the requested decision and who all has been involved in the preliminary process.

An imaging session is open to the public. Interested parties may attend as observers. It is also possible to participate in the discussion. At the beginning of the session you will have a maximum of 5 minutes to give your opinion to the council members. If you wish, you can remain at the table afterwards to answer any questions the council members may have. See "Participate or speak in" at the bottom of this page.

Judgment session

The next step toward decision-making is the Judgment phase. The council members state what they think about the proposal and they debate it with each other. They question each other and in case of disagreement they will try to use arguments to convince the other to revise his opinion. This stage is all about political debate. If a council member plans to make a motion or amendment in the decision-making process, it will often be announced at this stage to find supporters. This makes the judgment session the most important step in the decision-making process in terms of content.

A judgment session is open to the public. Interested parties may attend as observers. It is also possible to speak. At the beginning of the session you will have a maximum of 5 minutes to give your opinion to the council members. You will then be seated in the public gallery. See 'Speaking in public' at the bottom of this page.

Council meeting (8:30 p.m.)

Once every 4 weeks, Political Evening includes a council meeting. During the council meeting, the city council decides on proposals previously discussed in substance during image-forming and judgment sessions. Many of these are hammer items. This means that the proposal is no longer debated, but is voted on directly. If a proposal is designated as a discussion item, the proposal is still discussed (briefly). Or motions and/or amendments are submitted that will be voted on.

The council meeting is open to the public and always takes place in the council chamber. Interested parties may attend as listeners.

Speaking along or chiming in

Interested parties and stakeholders may participate in an image-forming session and speak in a judgment session. If you would like to participate or speak, you must register with the City Council's Municipal Clerk’s Office at least 24 hours prior to Political Night. You can do so by emailing Municipal Clerk’s Office Office@sonenbreugel.nl