Sacramento, California – For many Sacramento residents, speaking at a public meeting has often meant sorting through agendas, livestream pages, speaker instructions and accessibility information scattered across different places. The City is now trying to replace that maze with one digital front door.
Sacramento’s new Public Participation Hub puts the main tools for engaging with City Council and City Commission meetings in a single online location, giving residents more flexibility to follow decisions and make their voices heard.
Available at publiccomment.cityofsacramento.gov, the hub allows users to view agendas, watch meetings, submit written comments, request to speak through a digital speaker slip and find language or accessibility support. It is designed for people attending City Hall as well as those participating from home.
“The Public Participation Hub reflects our commitment to making local government more accessible, transparent and easier to navigate,” Assistant City Clerk Wendy Klock-Johnson said.
“Whether someone is attending their first meeting or has participated for years, these new tools make it easier for every resident to engage in the decisions that shape our community.”
Once an agenda is published, residents can submit written comments through links attached to specific agenda items. The comment period remains open until the meeting closes, allowing feedback to be connected directly to the issue under discussion.
People who cannot attend a City Council meeting in person may also participate by phone. That option is not available for City Commission meetings.
Council and commission meetings are streamed live and archived on the City’s official YouTube channel. Livestreams include AI-generated captions in English and Spanish, while recorded videos can use YouTube translation tools to display captions in more than 100 languages. The City notes that automated captions and translations may contain errors, and official meeting records remain the authoritative source.
Visitors attending Council meetings at City Hall can also receive help from LEX, short for Lobby Experience eXpert. Staff in the lobby can explain participation choices, assist with digital speaker slips and direct residents to meeting resources.
The hub also includes an ADA-accessible speaker slip and other tools intended to reduce participation barriers. By combining online access with in-person assistance, Sacramento is expanding how residents can take part in local government beyond basic state requirements.