Speak to Council

Reach out to a Member of Council by phone or email for any general inquiries or complaints. 

Persons wishing to verbally present information on matters of fact to Council may register to be a delegation at an upcoming Council Meeting. Upcoming meeting dates can be found on the Calendar. 

Those wishing to delegate are to submit a request for delegation form by the Tuesday in the week prior to the meeting. This is to ensure all agenda materials are received in a timely manner and for staff to review the content before posting. 

Approved delegations will have 10 minutes to speak. Only materials submitted for the agenda will be permitted to be presented to Council during the delegation. 

For full details on delegations, reference Section 9 within the Procedural By-law or Contact the Clerk. 

Council Meeting agendas are posted the Friday before the meeting. Agenda items are to be received by the Clerk the Tuesday before the meeting. So how does one go about speaking to something they see on the agenda once it's been posted? You have a couple options: 

Open Forum 

Open Forum is available to those wishing to speak to Council at the meeting on an already posted agenda item. If you see something on the Council agenda that you wish to speak to, register by emailing the Clerk before Noon on the day of the meeting. You will be allowed 2 minutes to speak. No discussion, debate or motions will be passed at this time - it is just for the ability to share your thoughts before Council considers the item later in the meeting. Reference Section 6.6 of the Procedural By-law or contact the Clerk for more information. 

Discuss with a Member of Council 

If you have opinions or information to share on a posted agenda item and do not want to speak through Open Forum, you can contact a member of Council before the meeting to share your thoughts for them to be aware while making their decision and/or possibly share the information with the rest of Council during the meeting. If going this route, please try not to email or call on the day of the meeting as it may be missed. 

Submit Correspondence 

Formal correspondence submitted to the Clerk after the agenda is posted and requesting it to be part of the agenda may warrant an Addendum being posted, however this has not typically been Bayham's practice. Section 6.9.3 of the Procedural By-law provides language for this to be possible if required. It is recommended to utilize the first 2 options to ensure your voice is heard. 

If you have a matter that is not for staff to handle and you would like Council to consider it formally during a meeting, you may submit written correspondence to the Clerk to be included on an upcoming agenda. Agenda items are to be received by the Clerk by 9 am on the Tuesday before the meeting. The Clerk will determine if the correspondence is appropriate for Council, if it is for information, or if it is for action. 

If you are submitting correspondence you wish to be included on an agenda, please indicate as such. Please be aware that any content you submit within this correspondence will be made public. 

Hybrid technologies are currently in place in Council Chambers. Council Meetings are live-streamed on the Bayham YouTube Channel, so residents can follow along from the comfort of their own homes.