Speaking Before Council

Citizens or organizations can speak before Town of Saugeen Shores Council as a delegation or during Open Forum.

Open Forum

If you wish to speak to an item that appears on a Committee of Whole or Council meeting agenda, you have the opportunity to speak during Open Forum at the beginning of the Committee of Whole meeting.

Each speaker must add their name to a register and speak for no longer than three minutes. Please contact the Clerk's Department for more information clerk@saugeenshores.ca or call 519-832-2008 Ext. 100.

Delegations

A member of the public or group of people wishing to make a presentation to Council can do so as a delegation.

How to speak before Council as a delegation

Please follow these steps to register your delegation for an upcoming Council meeting (we consider requests in the order they are received):

• Contact the Town Clerk by phone (519-832-2008 x104) or email the Town Clerk at least one week before the meeting
• State your reason for appearing and the solution or action you are seeking
• After the Clerk authorizes your delegation, submit a written letter, outline or PowerPoint presentation of your subject no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the Wednesday before your delegation's scheduled meeting. You can submit this through letter, email or memory stick

Delegation schedule

All Delegations appear during Committee of Whole meetings, held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Meetings take place in Council Chambers at 600 Tomlinson Dr. in Port Elgin. Please refer to our Council Meetings Calendar for upcoming meeting dates. Delegation presentations usually begin at the start of the Committee of Whole agenda.

Presentation and feedback

Saugeen Shores Council may hear up to three Delegations during a meeting. Presentations are limited to a maximum of 10 minutes regardless of how many people are making the presentation. Please keep your presentation brief and to the point. 

When presenting to Council or a Committee, always direct your presentation and response to questions, regardless of where the question came from, to the Chairperson. This helps maintain order in the meeting. Members of Council may only ask questions for clarification from delegates and will not engage in debate with delegates.

Speak into the microphone

Meetings held in the Council Chambers are televised and recorded. When presenting to Council, always stand at the podium and use the microphone. To use the microphone, push the purple/blue button on the base of the microphone. Do not speak to Council from your seat in the audience as the audio recording will not hear you.

Presentation materials

If you are presenting a PowerPoint presentation, audio or visual material at the meeting, it must be provided to the Clerk no later than noon on the Wednesday prior to the meeting. Test your presentation materials in advance of the meeting. Rehearse your material to ensure you can present the information within the 10-minute time limit.

A laptop and projector are available in the Council Chambers. The Clerk will have your presentation ready for you to use when you arrive at the meeting.

Tips for accessible presentations

Saugeen Shores requires documents to be accessible. Here are a few basic tips to consider when preparing a presentation to Council.

1. Font size 12 – 18 (Helvetica, Arial and Verdana are accessible fonts)
2. Avoid using ALL CAPS which are difficult to read; use Bold for emphasis
3. When using acronyms, type the full version of the word the first time it is used in the document
4. Use high contrast colour combinations to improve accessibility such as:

• black font on a light background or
• white font on a dark background.

Notice of collection of personal information

The personal information contained in communications directed to the Council of the Town of Saugeen Shores or its Committees is collected and will be used to assist Council Members in their decision making process.  

Please be advised that communications addressed to Council and its Committees will become part of the public record and may be placed on a public agenda made available on the Town’s website.

The Town of Saugeen Shores posts its minutes and agendas to the website and any information related to delegations, including names of presenters, will be included in the minutes and are public documents.