The Columbus City Council is a nine-member legislative body that writes the city’s ordinances, sets its budget, and oversees municipal departments. Shannon Hardin has served as Council President since 2018, and Rob Dorans serves as President Pro Tem. The other current members of the Columbus City Council are Shayla Favor, Nick Bankston, Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, Emmanuel Remy, Nancy Day-Achauer, Melissa Green, and Christopher Wyche.
Because the roster shifts with each election, the official list is maintained on the council’s page at columbus.gov. Four seats, in Districts 1, 3, 4, and 7, were on the ballot in 2025, with Wyche, Dorans, and Remy seeking re-election and District 7 drawing a contested race.
How Members Are Elected
Columbus uses a hybrid system. Each council member must live in the residential district they represent, but every voter in the city votes on every seat.1City of Columbus, Ohio. Council Residential Districts The council operated as a seven-member at-large body until 2023, when voters approved a charter amendment adding two seats and drawing nine districts.
Terms run four years. To stagger elections after the expansion, the city clerk drew lots at the first council meeting of 2024. Five seats (Lot A) received full four-year terms through 2028, and four seats (Lot B) received two-year terms ending in 2026. From then on, every seat carries a standard four-year term on alternating cycles.1City of Columbus, Ohio. Council Residential Districts
What the Council Does
The council passes the ordinances that govern zoning, licensing, and most other local rules inside Columbus. Its biggest annual task is the budget. The mayor submits a proposal, and the council turns it into an appropriation ordinance that assigns a dollar figure to each department. Public hearings come before the final vote, and the council has to publish any changes it made to the mayor’s proposal along with the reasons.2Municode Library. Columbus City Charter – Finances No city money moves without a council appropriation.
Members also vote on zoning changes and land-use applications, confirm the mayor’s appointments of department directors and board members, and authorize municipal bonds for infrastructure. The council can levy local taxes within state-law limits. Its investigative authority is broad: it can examine the financial transactions of any city office and review the official conduct of any city official on any matter within its legislative reach.2Municode Library. Columbus City Charter – Finances
Attending a Meeting or Reaching a Member
Regular meetings are held Monday evenings at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 90 West Broad Street. To speak during public comment, fill out a speaker slip before the meeting starts. Each speaker gets three minutes.3City of Columbus, Ohio. Council Meeting Resources
If you can’t make it in person, the city website has a portal for submitting written testimony on specific legislation. The City Clerk’s office handles correspondence to individual council members and public records requests. Agendas and upcoming meeting dates are posted at columbus.legistar.com.
Pay
As of 2026, Columbus City Council members earn $96,453 a year. A city compensation commission has recommended increases for council members and other elected officials, though any change still requires formal approval.4City of Columbus, Ohio. Columbus City Council