Council members are the city's legislators. Their main responsibility is policy making, which involves identifying the needs of local residents, creating programs to meet the evolving requirements of the community, and assessing the effectiveness of ongoing municipal services. In addition to these duties, council members also act as regulators, financiers, employers, and buyers. They also spend significant time representing the city in various external relationships, such as serving on committees of the Texas Municipal League and other statewide local government organizations. Council members collaborate with state legislators on city-related bills and work with the National League of Cities and other national public interest groups on municipal issues. Furthermore, council members support the efforts of organizations that aim to promote the city's economic development. (See resources: TML Handbook for Mayors and Council Members pg 25; Mansfield Home rule Charter, section 3.07)

The City conducts its business decisions and finance commitments in accordance with Texas law and the Texas Open Meeting Act. During meetings, the agenda sets out the schedule of activities for the council to follow, listing all items of business to be considered. These items are open for citizen and public comment. A typical agenda format includes a call to order, an optional invocation, approval of minutes from the previous meeting, public comment session, public hearings, old business, new business, staff reports, announcements, and adjournment if there is no further business. Additionally, there are reports from Advisory Boards and Commissions, with each board or commission and their respective reports listed. The agenda also includes a section for items from Council members to present matters not covered by ordinances, resolutions, and other specific matters requiring discussion under the Open Meetings Act. Each item to be considered must be specifically described in the agenda to ensure meeting transparency. The city has made these systems consistent with policy and procedure and has made them available on the website since 2007 (17+ years). Video recordings of the meetings have been available since 2008 (16+ years). To enhance transparency, the city has continuously updated the website to include more information, such as the status of developments and projects for public viewing. In addition, the budget ordinances listing the sections for public disclosure all list the same sections. Also, the verbiage “Whereas the City Council has conducted necessary public hearing as required by the Charter of the City and all state and local statutes and complied with the Texas Open Meeting Act” is included in all these budget ordinances. (See resources: Mansfield Accountability Project Citation of 2025 Budget ordinance; Samples of City Budget ordinance template; see city website for agenda and minutes structure since 2007; TML Handbook for mayors and council members pg 39)

Voter approval requests for the multi-sport venue were disclosed multiple times over 4 months through work sessions, public hearings, the Mansfield website, and a distributed voter guide. Voters approved Proposition A by 63.47% and Proposition B by 53.61%. (See resources: Copy Feb 13,2023 Agenda #23-5198; Proposition Work Session January 8, 2023; Proposition Work Session January 23, 2023; Proposition Work Session March 7, 2023; Public hearing April 24, 2023- 23-5305-video; New Business May 16, 2023 Item # 23-5365; Copy of Proposition Flier; Copy of Official Canvass votes)