Public participation at San Antonio city meetings is changing — one option is set to disappear, while another could potentially bring City Council meetings to your neighborhood.

Beginning April 1, the city will stop accepting voicemail public comments for city boards and commissions, ending a pandemic-era option that allowed residents to submit recorded remarks remotely.

At the same time, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo is asking the city to explore whether City Council B sessions could be held in neighborhoods across the 10 San Antonio districts.

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Council B sessions are regularly held downtown at Municipal Plaza on Wednesday afternoons. While no actions are taken at these meetings, they are designed for detailed staff presentations on policy issues before decisions are made.

“Often what we hear from members of the public at A session public comments is that ‘the decision has already been made and council already knows what choice they’re going to make,’” Castillo said. “By taking the B sessions out into the community, it allows us to engage with the community before we take action.” 

The proposal aims to make these meetings more accessible to people who cannot regularly attend due to transportation challenges, work schedules or caregiving responsibilities.

Ease of access

Castillo said residents frequently raise concerns about parking and travel downtown as barriers to attending meetings at City Hall. 

“The City of San Antonio does offer free parking if you’re giving public comments at City Hall,” she said. “However, what we continue to hear from members of the public is that parking in and of itself downtown is inaccessible.”

Castillo filed a Council Consideration Request, the first step in creating a new city policy or ordinance, on March 3. Under current city guidelines, the CCR must be placed on the Governance Committee agenda within 60 days of being submitted, or by the second scheduled committee meeting, whichever is sooner.

Council members Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Edward Mungia (D4), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) and Marc Whyte (D10) signed in support of advancing the CCR. 

The request proposes creating a “City Hall to All” pilot program that would test holding select City Council B Sessions in community spaces across San Antonio.

“One of the critiques that I heard is in terms of the cost of a location … what we envision is the cost for a facility being zero dollars,” Castillo said. “There are so many city-owned spaces that have already served as public meeting spaces.”

The CCR points to the city’s annual budget town halls, which are already held in community locations, as a model for the approach.

During the fiscal year 2026 budget process, 1,160 residents attended budget town halls held across San Antonio, according to the CCR. About 78% to 87% of participants surveyed said the meeting dates, times and locations worked well for them. 

Castillo added that staff has already been successful at complying with the Texas Open Meetings Act, which requires livestreaming and public notice for community-based meetings, at those locations.

If the pilot program moves forward, the CCR directs staff to develop data-driven criteria for selecting meeting locations, including access to transit, free parking, historic civic participation levels, and the ability to provide ADA and language access accommodations.

A rotational schedule would be developed so each council district would have an opportunity to host or co-host a B session, and staff would track engagement levels and survey residents before reporting the results back to City Council to determine whether the approach should become a permanent practice.

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