One of the most important ingredients of a healthy democratic society is citizen voice: do regular people have the ability to speak up about issues they care about, address themselves to their elected officials, and have input into the matters that affect them? Democracy is about much more than just voting every four years, and our municipal systems have plenty of opportunities for residents to engage with council. Here’s how.
The Agenda
Before you can speak at a public meeting, you need to know when it’s happening and what will be discussed. You can find Brighton’s council agendas here, including council, planning, and committee meetings. You’ll also find links to the livestream of council meetings, and recorded meetings and meeting minutes. The agenda is always made available on the Friday before the meeting, which is usually held on Monday; if you want to get onto a meeting agenda for a delegation of presentation, you need to contact the Clerk’s office by end of day Wednesday so they have time to include you. Agendas must be made public in advance of the meeting, and while it’s possible for council to amend the agenda even during the meeting, it’s important that we stick to the schedule as much as possible so that everyone knows in advance what will be discussed.
From the Procedural Bylaw, section 14.1:
Any person desiring to address the Council shall complete the form prescribed for Delegations/Petitions under Schedule A1 or Presentation Form under Schedule A2, and submit to the Clerk of The Municipality of Brighton, no later than Wednesday at Four o’clock (4:00 p.m.), the week preceding the meeting. If an application form is received after the deadline date or if the Agenda
Municipality of Brighton Procedural Bylaw, Section 14.1.1
is deemed full, the application may be considered at the next scheduled Regular or Special Meeting. The form can be legibly written or printed, but the preferred method is a fillable electronic format. The form shall not contain any defamatory allegations, or impertinent or improper matter; shall be dated and authorized by at least one person and shall include their name with appropriate contact information such as a current municipal and email address and shall include any material that is to be distributed or displayed to the Council.
Related or background information shall also be provided before the submission deadline and all such materials shall be included in the public agenda for review.
You’d be surprised at how often we receive barely legible notes with defamatory allegations and rude comments. It’s worth noting that having the right to be heard in a democracy is not the same thing as being a platform to spout off however you like! When we receive threats, they get forwarded to the police. And documents you submit as part of your requested delegation or presentation (see below) become public documents; if they’re defamatory, the Clerk will refuse your request.
It’s also worth noting here that sometimes people say that the chair of a meeting controls the agenda, and that this is one of the powers of the mayor that the rest of council doesn’t have. That’s only partially true. The clerk is the ultimate keeper of the agenda, and while the mayor can ask the clerk to include a matter on an agenda…so can anyone else, in the ways that follow. What the mayor can do is control the flow of discussion as they move through the agenda, but even the way that they do so is governed by the procedural bylaw.
So what parts of the agenda allow residents to speak?
Delegations and Presentations
Delegations and presentations are ways for individuals or groups to speak before council. The difference between them seems to be that a delegation is something someone requests to make to council, while a presentation is something council requests someone to make. Here’s how the procedural bylaw describes them:
14.2 Presentation Defined
Municipality of Brighton Procedural Bylaw, Section 14.2
A request made for a presentation may be made by the Council to an individual, group or organization or it may be made to the Council by individuals, groups or organizations for matters that fall under the Council’s mandate. Should the request for presentation be made where it requires that the Council take action, the request shall be made by way of Notice of Motion by a Member at the end of
the Meeting. This will give Council a chance to consider the presentation that was just given. A Member can also submit this notice of motion before the deadline for the next agenda.
And
14.3 Delegations Defined
Municipality of Brighton Procedural Bylaw, Section 14.3
A request made for a Delegation may be made to the Council by individuals, groups or organizations for matters that fall under the Council’s mandate. Delegations that request action to be taken by
the Council must understand that Council needs time to consider the delegation that they have just heard. Action may be brought forth by a staff report, if staff deems it practicable, or by a Member
submitting a notice of motion at the end of the meeting or before the deadline for the next agenda.
So if you as a resident want to bring something up before council, you can make a delegation. But if council wants to know something about you or your group, we can ask you to make a presentation.
Because a presentation happens at the request of council, it is often attached to a staff report on the matter, and so is usually addressed by the end of the meeting; whereas a delegation is bringing something new before council, and so will usually not be resolved until staff has had a chance to prepare a report on the matter. Note the point at the end of the description of delegations, that attaches it to a notice of motion: it is in your interest, if you have an issue to bring before council, to contact a councillor and get them to bring a Notice of Motion to the same meeting as your delegation. A Notice of Motion is included in a meeting agenda, and then addressed at the following meeting. If you want your matter addressed quickly, it’s best to get the Notice of Motion out of the way at the same time as the delegation, so you don’t have to wait two meetings to see it resolve.
Citizen’s Comments
As described in every meeting agenda, “Citizens Comments is an opportunity for the public to provide verbal comments in Open Session regarding matters on the current agenda.” At every meeting, the mayor reads out the description of Citizens Comments and asks if there are any members of the public present who wish to comment. Practically speaking, if you’re in the room there is a sign-up sheet at the podium, all you need to do is sign up in order to speak. If you’re attending via Zoom, you can simply “rise your hand”, and the mayor always asks if anyone present online has any comment.
If anyone has signed up to comment, the mayor will remind them of the rules of decorum: keep it to matters that are on this agenda (it isn’t a platform to say anything you want on any subject), don’t make accusations or use profanity, and keep it to two minutes.
The following matters will not be permitted during Citizens Comments:
Municipality of Brighton Procedural Bylaw, section 11.3.8.1
-Comments/complaints against Members of Council or Municipal staff;
-Matters beyond the jurisdiction of Council or the
Municipality;
-Closed Session agenda items, including current or
pending litigation, or Insurance claims and/or pending claims by or against the Municipality;
-Comments with respect to Minutes of Council and
Advisory Bodies;
-Comments that are contrary to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
-Comments with respect to any applications which have proceeded through a Public Meeting in accordance with the Planning Act, with the exception of comment related to a recommendation contained within the Staff Report.
Sometimes Citizens Comments is used as a way to bring a perspective to council’s attention that we otherwise might not have. When we decide on a matter, it’s on the basis of a staff report, our own knowledge of the matter, and any other relevant information. Please never assume that we know your perspective or desires on a particular matter; your voice can really help us to make more informed decisions on your behalf!
Note that this is a one-way interaction: we don’t get to respond to you, except to ask questions of clarification. Citizens Comments is not a forum for public debate, any more than it is a public forum for the airing of grievances. Also note that the content of your comments is not recorded in the minutes, though anyone watching the recording will be able to view them.
Question Period
Toward the end of the agenda is Question Period, wherein residents have the opportunity to ask questions about anything they’ve heard at the meeting. Again, not a forum for debate or grievances, and the mayor will ask that it be limited to actual questions rather than commentary.
Planning Meetings
The Planning Act requires that major decisions about land use follow a process that includes public engagement. Planning meetings, then, are where public comments happen most often. The following is read at every Planning meeting:
The Municipality of Brighton takes steps, beyond the requirement of the Planning Act, to engage the community in land use planning initiatives. The Municipality also holds a Statutory Public Meeting on the planning application and then receive a staff report with a recommendation on which Council will make a decision. After Council has made our decision any person or public body may appeal Council’s decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal as long as they have made an oral submission at this meeting or provided comments in writing to the Clerk’s office and requested notice of the decision from the Clerk’s office. This is also true of any person or public body that wishes to participate in the appeal.
For details or information on appealing decisions of Council please visit the Municipal website or contact the Clerk’s office.
From the agenda of every Council Planning Meeting in the Municipality of Brighton
The part about the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) is particularly important. Making an appeal to a Planning decision requires that you were at the meeting to speak to it in the first place. Signing up for comments is the same in a Planning meeting as it is in a regular council meeting, and if your name isn’t on that list by the end of the meeting you will not be able to participate in OLT appeals.
Engage!
I frequently hear from people who feel like they have no voice in governance, but there are four ways to literally speak at every council meeting, and almost nobody ever uses them. It would be absolutely lovely if members of the public spoke up more often, and especially if they didn’t wait until they were irate to do so. Council meetings are in the evenings, and available on Zoom, so that you can come to them. All are welcome, and so long as everyone remains kind and professional, all can be heard.
All well and good Jeff but how many times have you seen a Council swayed by something a delegation has said, especially if it is in opposition to the Agenda or in a large group of speakers all saying the same thing. The little guy with an alternate opinion stands no chance. But it is good optics for the Council to let people speak!
A good indication of whether Council has listened is whether any Councillors actually ask real questions and engage the delegation. Otherwise the delegation is heard, never listened to and the topic is “received for information”.
A good point Ben, and one that I think a lot about. I myself have only ever brought one delegation to council before I was elected; it resulted in the formation of a committee, at my suggestion. So I know it does happen! I have also experienced delegations and citizens comments that made a difference to my own mindset while I considered a matter as a councillor.
I shied away from saying it in this post – maybe it deserves a post of its own – but not all comments are equal, and not everyone who wants to speak is going to feel heard unless council obeys them. Frequently, the folks who show up come with misinformation and an axe to grind; I have witnessed this in other municipalities as well, and it can’t possibly go well. I have then witnessed those same people take to social media to say that they weren’t listened to. It would be irresponsible for a council to support a misinformed and ranting delegation over a researched staff report, and yet that’s what some people seem to want from us.
I like your metric of engagement and interaction. We aren’t allowed to respond to a delegation, but asking questions is a good sign. That said, sometimes a delegation is really clear, council all agrees with it, but no immediate action comes of it. For example, there have been a lot of calls recently for more stop signs and crosswalks; of course we all agree with improved road safety. But we’re currently working on a Transportation Master Plan which will cover all of that, so we receive the delegation for information. That doesn’t mean that nothing is happening; “received for information” CAN mean that we do nothing with it, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that.
Important to note , In order to receive agendas, for any meeting, go to Brighton.ca and click on the subscribe link. Here a list of meetings will come up and just click on the ones you want to receive. This way you know in advance what council will be discussing. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you can send in an email with your questions or concerns and ask that it be added to the agenda for next available meeting. Comments and concerns addressed on social media will not be brought up at a meeting.
Thanks Brenda, good points!