The first items are routine formalities done at every regular meeting:

1. The Call to Order: The Mayor calls the meeting to order.
2. Invocation: A local faith leader delivers a brief invocation for the meeting. 
3. Roll call: The City Clerk calls and records attendance for the Council.
4. Pledge of Allegiance: A member of the Council or community will lead those present in the  Chambers in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The business begins with Item 5, the Consent agenda. Items listed here are considered routine business items, such as street repairs, contract renewals and approving previous meetings’ minutes.

The consent agenda is usually approved with a single motion and vote. At times, a council member may request an item be removed from the Consent Agenda for individual consideration. These removed items are considered under Item 6 on the agenda.

While the entire Consent Agenda is approved in a single vote, it’s important to note each item does have detailed background information, called a Request for Action (RFA), that is posted online with the agenda and given to councilors for review when the agenda is posted for the public prior to the meeting.

Item 7 is for Public Hearings, Appeals, Presentations, Recognitions and Awards.

This is the time when many reports are made to the City Council by City departments or partner organizations. The Council will also use this time to recognize exemplary employees or residents.

When a resident requests a public hearing concerning a code violation, condemnation or similar matter, or a public hearing is required by law, such as for the annual budget, it is heard under Item 7.

Item 8 is when residents may speak to the Council on any topic not on the agenda but related to City business or services. The Council cannot take any action on these topics but may request City staff to examine them and bring back to the Council in the future if necessary.

Members of the community may also sign up to speak on a specific item on the agenda, and will be called upon when that item is under consideration.

Guidelines to speak at a meeting

Item 9 is for General Council Business. These are items City staff believe warrant more in depth discussion or detailed information before the Council makes a decision. Topics with a high amount of resident interest and that residents may wish to speak upon are usually reserved for General Business.

As with the Consent Agenda, items listed under General Business are supported by Requests for Action (RFAs) posted online when the agenda is posted.

Items 10 and 11 are for Ordinances under consideration.

Ordinances are enforceable laws enacted by the City.

Typically, ordinances are previewed at one meeting (Item 10) for Council members to analyze and set for adoption then formally voted for adoption (Item 11), usually at the following regular meeting.

As with the Consent Agenda and General Business, Ordinances and Preview Ordinances listed are supported by Requests for Action (RFAs) posted online when the agenda is posted.

Item 14 will list any Executive Session topics if there are any for that date. 

What is an executive session?

An executive session is a private meeting of the Council to discuss certain issues. They usually follow a regularly scheduled meeting. Any executive session must be noted on a meeting agenda posted at the legally required interval.

Topics of executive sessions are limited to the following areas by state law:

• Discussions of employment, promotion, and disciplining of a public employee
• Labor negotiations
• Purchase or appraisal of real properties
• Consultation with the body’s attorney regarding pending litigation
• (In the case of boards of education) discussion of student discipline when requested
• Discussing matters involving handicapped children
• Any matter which is exempt under the Oklahoma Open Records Act or federal statute

Except for matters that are required by state or federal law to be kept confidential, no final action may be taken during an executive session. The Council must make any votes during a public meeting.

 A meeting is adjourned if there is no executive session or recessed temporarily if there is.

One thing to note is that since Broken Arrow City Councilors make up the boards for Broken Arrow’s enterprises — the Broken Arrow Municipal Authority (BAMA) and Broken Arrow Economic Development Authority (BAEDA) — the regular Council meeting is usually recessed after Item 13. This allows the regular meetings of these boards to take place.

The agendas for BAMA and BAEDA meetings are posted at the same time as and are laid out similarly to Council agendas. Once these meetings are adjourned, the regular council meeting is resumed before Item 14, or 15 if there is no executive session.