Work full time for their full-time paychecks. Too many are absent too often.

Stop walking in and out of council sessions. It is distracting and rude and implies you don't really care about everything that is going on, or that you have more important things to do.

Since you can't really do much about city services [[since you can't order department heads to do anything), wield carefully and skillfully the only weapon that you do have - control over the budget and contracts. Refuse money where it is being wasted and not accoplishing what the citizens want it to accomplish.

Hire competent staff who will be capable of helping you thoroughly analyse the items before you that require your approval.