After the last person has spoken, the hearing will be closed. The City Council will then discuss and make a decision on the issue. The audience may not comment during Council's deliberations unless a Council member requests more information from a citizen. Again, you are also encouraged to submit your written comments on the subject to the Council Secretary or City Clerk before the meeting so they can be included in the record and distributed to the Council. The powers of initiative and referendum are means by which citizens can impact legislation directly.
Initiative is the power of the public to initiate ordinances by petition.
Referendum is the means by which the public can have enacted ordinances referred to them for review. These powers of the public are not universally available, and are only available in first class cities. Initiative and referendum procedures are controlled by the City Charter. If your call to a City department does not resolve an issue to your satisfaction, then a call to your City Council representative is in order.