Communicating with the City

Do you want to share your opinion or ideas with council?  City Council provides a number of opportunities for the public to participate in regular Council meetings.  Your opportunities to communicate with Council include:

Write a Letter

All correspondence addressed to the Mayor and Council is provided for consideration and a response from Council.  Most correspondence is considered at the first regular scheduled meeting after receipt.  Only a few exceptions occur.  Nonetheless, all correspondence will be considered by the Mayor and Council and a written response provided.  It is important to distinguish your intent  -  are you providing information only, do you have a suggestion or are you asking a specific question or proposing a specific action?  Please make it clear in your correspondence what you expect from Council.

Speak to Council

Each Council meeting accommodates Delegations before Council.  This is an opportunity to make a presentation on matters of civic interest.  Each Delegation is provided a maximum of ten minutes, Delegations may be limited to no more than three each meetings and are signed up on a first come first served basis.  To be a Delegation, we require a written request including the topic of discussion.  If you are requesting a certain action of Council, please outline this specifically in your written request.  Any background materials are appreciated and will be circulated to the Mayor and Council with the agenda.  Requests to be a delegation are to be addressed to the City Clerk and must be received before 12:00 pm the Wednesday before the regular meeting.  Materials to be handed out to Council at the meeting should be copied a minimum of fifteen times for Council, staff and the media.

As a Delegation you should be aware of the procedures of Council.  The Mayor is the chair of the meeting and all comments are to be directed to the Mayor, including questions that Council members may have of you.

Audio visual equipment is available, but these arrangements must be made in advance of the meeting and are the responsibility of the Delegation

The purpose of Delegations is to provide a forum for input on matters of relevance to civic affairs.  It is not intended to be a forum for issues that are not the responsibility for the City (i.e. provincial or federal policy).

Question Period

A question period follows every regular meeting.  This provides an opportunity for the public or a member of the press to ask a specific question of Council.  You may request clarification on an item considered during the meeting or perhaps just on general civic business.