The City of Dowagiac operates with a Council/Manager form of Home Rule government adopted in 1964.

The legislative and policy-making body consists of a 6-member city council. These Councilmembers are comprised of two representatives of each of the three voting districts within the City limits. Councilmember terms are four years; there are no term limits.

The position of Mayor is by popular public vote on a four-year cycle. The Mayor Pro-Tempore is elected from within the Council by the Council.

The City Council meets twice monthly on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall unless otherwise posted. Any changes to regularly scheduled meetings will be posted on the City Website as well as published in the Dowagiac Daily News.

Agendas for these meetings are prepared and posted on the Friday prior to these meetings and will be available on our website by 3:00 p.m. that same day. Council meetings are open to the public, with a segment of each council meeting open for public comments. Click Here to view the most recent agenda.

Minutes from the City Council meetings are prepared each Friday following a meeting.
Minutes should be available on our website on the Monday opposite council meetings. Click Here to view the most recent meeting minutes.