From regulating land use to enforcing the city’s laws, and from setting income, sales, and property taxes to overseeing dozens of agencies, the city council makes decisions that affect your everyday life. That’s why it’s so important to get involved — vote, attend meetings, and read the news. But if you’re new to this, how do you even know what to look for?

Generally speaking, city council does most of its work through its many committees. These are the bodies that do deep dives into the city’s practices and programs, with staffers, architects, and other professionals assisting them. The council has 35 standing committees, plus select and subcommittees, that oversee all areas of city government. And each council member sits on at least three of these, with the speaker and the majority leader being ex officio members of all of them.

The council is also a check on the mayor’s administration. That’s not only apparent in the body’s frequent criticism of the mayor — like in its call for more homeless shelters or overriding of the mayor’s veto of a legislative package expanding eligibility for housing rental vouchers — but also in the body’s ability to force the administration to disclose information and impose reprimands and sanctions.

The charter says the council, “shall be judge of the election and qualifications of its members and of the grounds for forfeiture of office.” That means that if any of these rules are broken, the council can discipline its own members by calling a public hearing, summoning witnesses, administering oaths, and requiring the production of evidence.