Release notes

Fixes

Tabs on a city's page switch smoothly again. The whole page no longer reloads when you pick one.

See what a bill changes

Cities often mark the changes on a bill's pages. Words being removed are crossed out, and new words are underlined. We now show those marks on the page, just as the city made them.

A bill's plain summary now tells you what the rule will be. It no longer treats removed words as if they still count.

Fixes

When you read a city's file, Previous and Next now sit below the page too. You can turn the page without going back up.

The buttons to get the city's own file are now at the top of the page.

Go straight to a bill's pages

A bill's page now says how many pages the agenda has about it. Its agenda link opens right on the first of them, so you can read the bill itself.

Pages are easier to read

Pages from city files now keep a gap between each block of text, as on the paper.

Fixes

More Arnold bills now show a plain summary of what they do.

When a city's file can only be downloaded, its button now says so.

After you page through a file, Back now takes you to where you were before it.

Arnold is open

Arnold, Missouri is now open on KeepCouncil. See its City Council meetings, votes, and new laws from January 2025 on.

Arnold posts its papers as scans. We read each page, and we mark how sure we are of what we read.

Arnold does not always post its final minutes. When it doesn't, we show the draft from the next meeting's papers. The final minutes replace it when they come.

Fixes

Filters and menus are easy to read again in Brave’s Night Mode on a phone.

Crestwood is here

You can now follow Crestwood, Missouri. See its Board of Aldermen meetings, votes, and new laws from January 2025 on.

Crestwood shares the files for each item only until the meeting starts. We save them as soon as they are posted. So from now on, you can read them after the meeting too.

In Crestwood, one member can stop a bill from getting its final vote on the night it comes up. The bill then waits for a later meeting. Its page shows who stopped it.

A map of every city in St. Louis County

The home page now shows a map of every city in St. Louis County, and the City of St. Louis. The cities we cover are filled in. Each city we add fills in one more.

Zoom in to find your own city, even a very small one. Tap it to open it. If it isn't here yet, tap Count me in to ask for it. When enough neighbors ask, its shape gets a tint on the map.

You can also search for your city by name, right above the map.

Fixes

More laws now have a short plain summary, even when the city posted no papers for them.

A topic with no laws yet now opens on its agenda items, so you see what it counts.

Ask now knows when a word like green or hall is just a word, and not a council member’s name.

Send feedback and Report a problem now work without an email app. You can write to us in Gmail, or copy our address.

When you open a page, you now see its outline at once while it loads.

Town pages now load much faster.

Count me in on the map now closes the list and takes you to the form.

A new look for shared links

When you share a page from KeepCouncil, its preview has a fresh look. It reads like the front page of a local paper.

A town's preview leads with the town's name. Each preview says where its facts come from.

Bill pages lead with what the bill is about

A bill's page now opens with the same short name you see on its card. Its number sits just above it.

That short name comes from our AI summary, and the tag right below it says so. When we are less sure of a summary, the page opens with the bill's number instead.

Answers say when they weren't checked

Sometimes our second check of an answer can't run. The answer now says so next to its mark. Read its sources before you trust it.

Safer community notes

Some community notes now wait for us to read them before others can see them. This happens with new accounts, and with notes that might blame someone. You can still see your own note while it waits.

Your public name can no longer match the name of an official or a city.

Tell us when something looks wrong

Each vote, summary, and page now has Report a problem in its menu. It opens an email to us, and you don't need an account.

You can also send us feedback from the bottom of the home page. When Ask can't find records, it offers a way to tell us too.

Clearer pages when something is missing

A meeting whose minutes we haven't read yet now says so. It no longer looks like the council decided nothing.

A bill with no vote yet shows where it stands, the same on its page and its card. Cards now show the vote count even when the minutes list no names.

Files the city took down say so, and we still show what they said. People who left office are shown as former members.

Empty lists now tell you if nothing matches your filters, with a way to clear them. Search on Decisions now finds topics too.

Fixes

Opening a town from the home page on a phone now starts at the top of its page.

Going back now returns you to the same spot on the page you left.

Daphne is here

You can now follow Daphne, Alabama. See its council meetings, votes, and new laws from January 2025 on.

Daphne posts its signed minutes as pictures of paper pages. We read the words from each page. Then we check them against the city's typed copy, so names and votes come out right.

Fixes

Up next for Clayton now shows the bills up for a vote at the next meeting, with their topics.

Votes the minutes call unanimous now show how each member voted. You can see them on each member's page too.

Clayton is here

You can now follow Clayton, Missouri. See its council meetings, votes, and new laws from January 2025 on.

Clayton's minutes list who came to each meeting. A member not on that list shows as absent, with a note saying so.

Privacy update

We now save the questions you ask, without your name. This helps us make answers better.

We also count visits to learn which pages help people most. The Privacy page tells you more.

Better links to share

Share a bill in a text or a post. The preview now shows what the bill does and where it stands. It shows the vote and its topic too.

Meetings, council members, and Up next get their own previews as well. A meeting shows its votes and who came. A member shows how often they came and how they voted. Up next shows the day and what could come up.

Fixes

Sometimes the city moves a meeting to a new day. Old links to that meeting now take you to its new day.

See where you are in a packet

Packet, agenda, and minutes pages now show a bar under the page buttons. It marks the page you are on. Tap the bar or drag it to move through a long packet fast.

Dots mark pages with community notes. Tap a dot to go to that page and its notes.

Fixes

Long section names on packet pages now fit on the screen. They also read with spaces in place of underscores.

Follow a topic

Follow a topic, like Streets and Traffic, from its page. We email you when it is on a coming agenda. We email you again when it comes up for a vote.

Follow from any list

Meeting and bill cards now have a Follow bell. Your Saved page lists all you follow.

Easier to read emails

Follow emails now group each change under its meeting. A badge on each line shows what changed.

Status page

See if KeepCouncil is working from the Status link at the bottom of the home page. You can sign up there for an email when something breaks.

Better shared links

Share a bill, a meeting, or a town, and the link now shows its name and town.

Up next

Each town’s page now shows the next council meeting. Its own page tells you how to take part. It says when the agenda will be ready. It also lists bills that could come up for a vote.

Add to calendar

Add the next meeting to your calendar with one tap.

Follow a meeting or a bill

Follow the next meeting, one meeting, or a bill. We email you when it changes. We also email you if a meeting moves or is canceled. Every email has a link to stop.

Topics

Issues is now called Topics. That is the word the rest of KeepCouncil uses.

One year for the whole town

Pick a year at the top of a town’s page. Every tab now shows that same year.

We mark what we doubt

Our checks look for votes that don’t add up. When one fails, we mark that part of the page. A note says what we are not sure of.

Better on phones

Ask now fills the screen on phones and stays above the keyboard. The menu is new, with big links that are easy to tap.

City staff can reply

City staff can now join KeepCouncil for their city. They can reply to community notes. Their replies show a badge with the city’s name.

Florissant and the City of St. Louis

KeepCouncil now covers Florissant and the City of St. Louis. St. Louis starts its bill numbers over each session. So each of its bills shows its session too.

A page for each meeting

Each meeting now has its own page. It shows the votes, who came, and what each bill did there.

Every town on the home page

The home page now lists every town we cover. Don’t see yours? Ask for it, and we can tell you when it is added.

Browse the whole record

Search, filter, and sort every list. Look up any bill, meeting, or vote by year or month.

Trends

New charts show how often the council agrees and how long bills take to pass. They also show who came to each meeting.

KeepCouncil for Creve Coeur

Ask a question about your city council and get an answer with its sources. Each fact links to the page it came from. Each answer shows how sure we are.

Community notes

Sign in to leave a note when something looks wrong. Notes are public, and we answer each one.

Plain summaries

Each bill has a short summary in plain words. AI writes it, and we check it against the record.