MVM Civics 101 Index

🏛️ MVM Civics 101 — City Council

What Does the City Council Do?

The short answer

The Moreno Valley City Council makes major policy decisions for the City.

The Council passes City laws, approves the budget, approves many contracts and decides other important City matters.

The Council does not manage City employees or run City departments. That is the City Manager’s job.

Who serves on the City Council?

Moreno Valley has a five-member City Council:

The Mayor is part of the City Council and has one vote, just like each district Councilmember.

What does the City Council do?

The City Council:

Most of these powers belong to the Council as a whole—not to one Councilmember acting alone.

How does the Council make decisions?

The Council makes decisions during public meetings.

City staff usually prepares a report about each matter. The report explains the issue, possible choices and staff’s recommendation.

Members of the public may submit written comments. They may also speak during the time allowed for public comment.

Councilmembers discuss the matter and vote. A Councilmember may ask questions, suggest changes or try to persuade the other members. However, one Councilmember cannot approve an item alone.

How many Council members must attend?

At least three of the five Council members must attend for the Council to conduct business. The Mayor counts as one of those members.

This is called a quorum.

A quorum could be:

If only two members attend, the Council does not have a quorum and generally cannot conduct City business.

How many votes are needed?

It depends on the type of action.

Many important actions require at least three yes votes. These include City laws, resolutions and orders approving the payment of City money.

Three yes votes are still required for those actions when only three or four Council members attend.

Some routine motions may pass with a majority of the members who are present. Certain special actions may require four votes.

For that reason, a majority of the members at a meeting is not always enough to approve an item.

What is the Mayor Pro Tem?

Each year, the City Council selects one of the four district Councilmembers to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.

The Mayor Pro Tem is not elected separately by the public.

When the Mayor is absent, the Mayor Pro Tem leads Council meetings and performs certain mayoral duties.

The Mayor Pro Tem still has only one vote. The Mayor Pro Tem does not receive the absent Mayor’s vote and does not run City departments.

Can one Councilmember make a City decision?

Generally, no.

One Councilmember can:

One Councilmember generally cannot:

A Councilmember may have political influence. But influence is not the same as having the legal power to act alone.

Who is responsible for a Council decision?

Each Councilmember is responsible for their own vote.

When a majority approves an item, it becomes a decision of the City Council as a whole. It is not only the Mayor’s decision or the decision of the Councilmember who first proposed it.

The meeting minutes and voting record show how each member voted.

Does the City Council run City departments?

No.

The City Council sets policy, approves the budget and appoints the City Manager.

The City Manager oversees City departments and employees. The City Manager also makes sure the Council’s policies are carried out.

City Council sets policy → City Manager runs City operations

Councilmembers may ask questions and request information. However, they generally work through the City Manager instead of giving orders directly to City employees.

What does “oversight” mean?

Oversight means checking whether the City is following Council policy and using City money as approved.

For example, the Council:

Oversight does not mean that Councilmembers supervise every employee or make every daily decision.

Does the Council approve every contract or purchase?

No.

The Council approves many major contracts and purchases.

The City Manager and other City staff may approve some agreements and purchases. They must stay within the limits set by City law, the approved budget and Council policy.

This allows the City to handle routine business without placing every purchase on a Council agenda.

Does the Council decide what gets built?

Sometimes—but not always.

A private property owner or developer decides what project to propose. The applicant then submits the proposal to the City.

City staff reviews the application under the General Plan, zoning rules, development rules and other laws.

Depending on the type of application:

When the Council reviews a development proposal, it reviews the application that was submitted. It does not normally choose what private business the owner or developer should propose.

Are City Council positions full-time jobs?

No.

Moreno Valley’s Mayor and Councilmembers hold paid, part-time elected positions. They are not volunteers.

Part-time does not mean the work takes only a few hours. Councilmembers may spend a great deal of time attending meetings, reading reports, meeting with residents and representing the City.

As of 2026:

These amounts do not include authorized benefits, repayment of work-related expenses or possible pay for serving on certain regional boards. City Council pay is set by City law and may change.

The key point

The City Council has important authority, but it uses that authority mainly through public meetings and group votes. One Councilmember may ask questions, speak for or against an idea and try to build support. However, one Councilmember generally cannot make a City decision or direct City operations alone.

Understanding that difference can help residents identify who proposed an action, who recommended it, who voted for it and who is responsible for carrying it out.

Next in MVM Civics 101

The City Council sets City policy, but it does not manage daily City operations.

Next, we’ll explain how the City Manager oversees City departments, manages City staff and carries out the policies approved by the Council.

Read: What Does the City Manager Do? →

Official sources

About MVM Civics 101

MVM Civics 101 explains how Moreno Valley local government works in plain language. It is intended to explain governmental roles and processes—not to support or oppose any candidate, official, project or political position.

This article provides general educational information based on official records and authoritative sources. It is not legal advice. Moreno Valley MattersÂŽ is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Moreno Valley.

If you identify a possible factual error, please send us the specific statement and an authoritative source supporting the correction. Documented errors will be corrected transparently.

Last reviewed: August 31, 2026