The mayor and four council members are the elected policy makers for the City of Prior Lake. They are responsible for adopting and enforcing ordinances, establishing public and administrative policies, appointing the city manager, creating boards and commissions, managing the city's financial operations (including levying taxes, approving a budget, auditing expenditures, and borrowing money) and transacting all other city business as required by law. Two members of the City Council also serve as the Economic Development Authority (EDA) along with three members appointed from the public.

The City Council meets at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at City Hall, 4646 Dakota Street SE.

All regular meetings of the Prior Lake City Council are televised on PLTV (Mediacom Ch 808 / Nuvera Ch 15) and can be watched live or on-demand at PriorLakeMN.gov/PLTV.