Appear as a Delegation at Council

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On this page:

Register to be a delegation
Delegation guidelines
Your presentation
Written submissions
Petitions
Recording notice

Register to be a delegation

To register as a delegation to speak to an item at an upcoming Council meeting, please register before noon on the day of the Council meeting. Contact Township staff to register.

Upcoming Council meeting agendas are available online.

After you register, staff will contact you and give you more information about the meeting and send you a Zoom meeting invitation if you chose to attend virtually. To join the virtual meeting, you’ll need access to either a computer or tablet with internet service or a telephone.

All Council Meetings are open to the public unless they are a Closed Meeting under Section 239 of the Municipal Act. This means all information you provide at/during the meeting and any presentations or written materials submitted in relation to an agenda item will be included as part of the public record including your name at a minimum.

Delegation guidelines

The rules for being a delegation have been established by Council through the Procedural By-law.

As a delegation, you can address Council for a maximum of seven (7) minutes and may only speak once to an agenda item.

If your delegation includes five or more people, two people can speak, each for a maximum of five minutes. Each speaker must register as a delegation separately, please note in your email the group/people being represented.

Staff will have a timer to ensure your delegation is on track and would suggest that you have your own timer as well. Once you have concluded your comments, Council will have the opportunity to ask you questions. Respond by saying “Through you Mr. or Madam Chair…”. If there are no questions, or once you have finished responding to their questions, your delegation will be considered complete. You will not be allowed to readdress Council unless specific questions are asked of you. You do not need to stay for the rest of the meeting after your item has been dealt with.

We would like to remind you that proper decorum is expected from all participants in the meeting. If you are attending the meeting as a virtual delegation, you may wish to familiarize yourself with the Electronic Participation procedures prior to your delegation.

Tips for Being a Virtual Delegation

Here are some tips for you as a delegation joining a virtual meeting of Wilmot Council using Zoom. We hope these help you to have the best experience as a delegation. Please note that you will have 7 minutes to speak/make your presentation.

Before the Meeting

Test your technology

Test all your technology in advance to ensure it works properly (e.g., your camera/video, microphone and Wi-Fi). This will help avoid delays when it is your turn to speak and minimize any difficulties you might experience.

Practice speaking to the camera, not the screen

Our tendency is to look at the person on the screen but try to look at the camera when you speak so the audience feels like you’re talking directly to them. Depending on your computer setup, this might be very easy to do.

Dress appropriately

Although formal attire is not necessary, you are participating in a Council meeting and will be visible on camera. You will also appear as part of the recording of the meeting which is archived on the Township’s website so dressing appropriately is recommended.

Find a quiet place

Find a space in your home or office where you will not be interrupted during your delegation and where background noises will be minimized – preferably a location where you can close the door if possible. This will help you to focus and avoid any embarrassing occurrences in the background.

Be aware of your surroundings

Adjust your camera so that you face a window or are exposed to plenty of light. Be mindful of personal objects in the background (e.g., photographs of family or items conveying personal information) that you might not want the public to see. Consider removing such objects, positioning your camera away from them, blurring your background or using a stock background image from Zoom – just make sure it is appropriate for a Council meeting.

Be prepared

Review and practice your speaking notes/presentation. If you are using a PowerPoint presentation, ensure none of the slides have images of people unless you have obtained their written consent or are using stock images from the internet. Clerks staff needs your presentation before 4:30pm the Friday before the meeting at which you are appearing.

If you are using a PowerPoint presentation, staff will display it for you. You just have to indicate “next slide” for them to advance the slides.

Multiple speakers/presenters

If you are presenting with other people, ensure you provide Clerks staff with the names and email addresses of everyone so we can send the meeting invitation to them – please do not forward the meeting invitation to them yourself. If there are more than 5 people in your group, please select 2 spokespersons.

During the Meeting

Introduction

When you initially join the Zoom meeting, you will be placed in a waiting room where you can see and hear the meeting but will not be able to speak. When it is your turn to speak, staff will move you from the waiting room into the meeting and the Mayor will let you know it is your turn to speak. Turn on your camera and microphone, introduce yourself and any group/organization you are representing. It is not advisable or required for you to provide any personal information beyond your name (e.g., address, family composition).

Silence your phone

Turn off all notifications and make sure your cell phone is on silent while you are speaking/presenting so that you can focus and pay full attention to any questions Council might have of you.

Questions from Council

After you have spoken, Council may or may not have questions of you. If they do, try to answer as succinctly as possible and within your scope of knowledge/expertise. If they do not, please do not think that Council has not been paying attention to you – they have.

Conducting your delegation

When you are finished, the Mayor will thank you. Turn off your camera and microphone. Staff will move you back into the waiting room where you can stay until your item has been dealt with or you may leave the meeting and continue watching on the Township’s YouTube channel.

Quick Do's and Don'ts

5 Do's for being a virtual delegation

Do speak clearly and stay within the 7 minutes allotted to you.
Do keep body movements minimal and gesture slowly and naturally.
Do maintain eye contact by looking into the camera.
Do dress appropriately.
Do conduct yourself with decorum.

6 Don'ts for being a virtual delegation

Don't make distracting sounds or movements or wear “noisy” jewelry.
Don’t eat or drink while on camera.
Don't shout or raise your voice when speaking.
Don't carry on side conversations.
Don’t make negative allegations/comments about members of the public or members of Council.
Don’t use hate speech or profanity.

Your presentation

If you plan to use a PowerPoint presentation during the meeting, you must give the file in PDF format to our clerk’s office before 4:30 p.m. on the Friday before the meeting in order for it to be shown. Presentations received after that deadline will not be shown at the meeting but will be attached to the online minutes.

Presentation materials must follow the Municipal Freedom of Information Privacy Protection Act (MFIPPA) requirements and cannot include photos of identifiable individuals, licence plates and/or names without the individual’s consent. Materials must not contain any of the following:

negative allegations or comments towards members of the public or members of Council;
profanity;
hate speech.

Clerks staff will review your presentation and return it to you to make appropriate adjustments if necessary to conform to the Township’s and MFIPPA requirements, and must be returned to Clerks staff the Friday before the Council meeting in order to be shown.
When you’re preparing your presentation, try to keep your:

speaking notes to a maximum of 550 words to keep a comfortable pace; and,
slide deck between five and eight slides.

These tips will help you stay in the seven-minute time limit and avoid rushing or leaving out information.

Written Submissions

If you do not wish to appear as a delegation but would still like to provide Council with your comments regarding an Agenda item, please send your written comments to us by email.

If we receive your written submission 5 business days prior to the meeting date, it will be included online as part of the Agenda package on our website. If your written submission is received after that, it will be circulated to Council and will be published online as part of the minutes only. In both cases, it will form part of the public record. Only personal information as defined by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) will be redacted from your written submission.

Petitions

Petitions given during a public meeting are part of the public record. If you want to submit a petition, please make sure everyone who has signed the document understands that all the information they included in the petition will:

be available to the public; and,
not be protected under MFIPPA.

If you want to submit a petition, please email Township staff.

Recording notice

All Council meetings are recorded and live streamed. We also archive them on our YouTube channel.

Contacts