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Note that public participation is not a forum to request information from Councillors or Council staff. For such requests, call the Council Offices.
Arranging a Time to Speak
If you want to speak to the Council, contact the Committee Secretary, Linda Copping, on 319-5026. When you call, please be ready to advise the following:
- Your name and contact details;
- the organisation you will represent, if any;
- the subject of your statement.
Some points about public participation:
- You need to advise Council of your wish to speak at a meeting 7 days prior to the meeting.
- The number of public participants who can speak at each meeting is limited to three. When there are a large number of requests to speak, the Chair of the meeting will determine who will speak prior to preparation of the agenda.
- Each public participant will have a maximum of five minutes to speak.
- You can bring along written material supporting your position. Please ensure that enough copies are available for Council (10 copies are required).
- You can view copies of the agendas and reports at least two days before the meeting from your local library, the Council officer or online.
At the Meeting
Council meetings are quite formal, so please understand and follow these basic rules:
- When you arrive, you will be greeted by the Chair of the meeting who will show you where to sit when it is your time to address the meeting.
- If you have brought along written material, please give it to the Chair for distribution.
- At the start of the meeting the Chair will run through some housekeeping matters and will then move on to public participation.
Speaking
- When it is your turn to speak the Chair will introduce you formally to the Councillors and invite you to move to the place where you will speak.
- The Chair will also advise you of how long you have to speak. You will be timed. Be careful to use your minutes wisely.
- The Chair may terminate your statement if it is disrespectful or offensive.
- When you have finished speaking, the Councillors, through the Chair, may want to ask you a few questions so that they can better understand your position.
- This opportunity is to formally and publicly inform full Council of your views on a particular subject. It is not a forum for debate and time is not allocated for this.
Council is pleased to offer this opportunity to everyone and feels it enhances our already successful public consultation processes.
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