The Harrisburg City Council is the seven-member legislative body for Pennsylvania’s capital city, responsible for passing every local ordinance and approving the municipal budget. Members are elected at-large to four-year terms with no term limits, and the council operates alongside a strong mayor who runs daily city operations but needs council approval to spend money or enact law.
Who Serves on the Council
All seven seats are elected citywide rather than by ward or district, and the positions are part-time. As of 2026, the members are:
- Danielle Hill, Council President
- Lamont Jones, Council Vice President
- Crystal Davis
- Ausha Green
- Jocelyn Rawls
- Ralph Rodriguez
- Robert Lawson
Voters do not pick the council president directly. The seven members choose one of their own to lead on the first Monday of January following a regular municipal election, under the Optional Third Class City Charter Law. The president runs meetings, assigns bills to committees, and supervises council staff. The vice president fills in when the president is absent.
What the Council Does
The council holds all legislative power for the city. It writes, amends, and repeals the ordinances and resolutions that govern zoning, land use, public safety, infrastructure, and city contracts. Passing anything requires a favorable roll-call vote from a majority of all seven members, not just those present at the meeting.
Once an ordinance passes, the City Clerk sends it to the mayor within 72 hours. The mayor has ten days to sign it, veto it in whole or in part, or do nothing, in which case the ordinance becomes law without a signature. If the mayor vetoes, the council can override with a two-thirds vote of all members, meaning at least five of the seven. That override vote has to wait at least three days after the mayor returns the vetoed ordinance. The council used this power in recent years to override a partial mayoral veto of the city budget.
The mayor can attend council meetings and join debate but cannot vote, except to break a tie when the council is filling one of its own vacancies.
Budget Authority
The council’s most consequential job each year is reviewing and approving the municipal budget, which the charter requires to be passed by December 31. That process includes setting the local property tax rate. The mayor’s office typically drafts the proposed budget, but the council decides what gets funded and at what level. Since no city department can spend money the council hasn’t appropriated, this is the council’s strongest lever over city policy.
Meeting Schedule
Regular legislative sessions happen on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. City Government Center. A non-voting review session starts at 5:30 p.m. before each legislative session, where members talk through the agenda without taking formal action. If a scheduled meeting lands on a legal holiday, it moves to the next day.
Separate work sessions handle committee business and deeper discussion of pending bills. Meetings are live-streamed and archived on the city’s YouTube channel.
How to Give Public Comment
Residents can speak at both work sessions and legislative sessions. At legislative sessions the public comment period is called “Courtesy of the Floor” and happens before any votes. At work sessions, comment comes after committee and discussion business is finished.
Each speaker gets up to four minutes. To be called on, sign in on the sheet near the chamber entrance with your name, address, and phone number or email. The council president can shorten or extend the time depending on how many people have signed up, and can refer any issue raised during comment to the appropriate committee for follow-up.
If you can’t attend, email your statement to Publiccomment@harrisburgpa.gov with the subject line “Public Comment – [Session Date]” and ask that it be included in the minutes of the next legislative session. For individual neighborhood issues or service requests, you can reach council members through their official city email addresses or through the council’s administrative office.
Tracking Bills, Agendas, and Recordings
The city’s eCode360 portal is the central source for council activity. It hosts the full city code, meeting agendas, official minutes, resolutions, and approved budgets. Meeting recordings go up on the city’s YouTube channel, usually within a few days of each session. The council’s page on the city website lists current members, contact information, and the rules of procedure that govern meetings. Complete copies of every bill introduced are also available for inspection at the City Clerk’s office during business hours.
Pay and Ethics Filings
Council members other than the president earn an annual salary of $20,000. Because the positions are part-time, members typically hold other jobs.
Under Pennsylvania’s Ethics Act, every council member files a Statement of Financial Interests each year they hold office and for the year after they leave. The deadline is May 1, covering the prior calendar year. Members must submit paper copies to all required filing locations; electronic filing through the State Ethics Commission is voluntary for local officials and does not replace the paper requirement.