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All correspondence should be addressed to "Mayor and Members of Council" in order to be considered for placement on a Council agenda.
Submissions may be dropped off at the Orillia City Centre at the first floor reception desk, mailed, faxed or e-mailed to councilservices@orillia.ca. Submissions received before 12:00 Noon on the Tuesday prior to a regular Council meeting will be considered for placement on that agenda and will generally appear within the "Consent Agenda" section.
If you wish to receive a response, please include your complete mailing address with your postal code, phone numbers and email address as part of a covering email or cover page to your submission, in order for staff in the City Clerk's Office to contact you.
It is the City's practice when emails/letters are received and also circulated/copied to all members of Council by the author, that it not be placed on an upcoming agenda. The purpose of this practice is to eliminate the duplication of items received by members of Council.
Any member of Council may request to have an email/letter they have received, to be placed on an agenda for discussion.
Do not include personal information within the correspondence if you do not wish this information to be published.
Letters containing profanity or submitted anonymously will NOT be circulated or placed on an agenda.
The City of Orillia collects personal information in your communications to City Council or its Committees under the Municipal Act, 2001. This information is collected to enable Council and/or its Committees to make informed decisions on the relevant matter. Individuals who make submission to Council should be aware that any personal information in their communications may become part of the public record and may be made available to the public through the agenda process which includes publication on the City's website.
Direct Response Policy
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As per the City of Orillia Policy 1.2.2.2. - Direct Response Policy:
"It shall be the policy of the City of Orillia to provide direct written responses from the Office of the Mayor to correspondence addressed to Mayor and Council if the following criteria are satisfied, rather than placing the correspondence on the Council agenda:
- Correspondence seeking only factual information.
- Correspondence dealing with a subject that has been previously dealt with by Council and therefore simply requires a response relaying a Council position.
- Correspondence that falls within the administration's jurisdiction and does not require a policy decision from Council.
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Petitions to Council
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A Petition is a document addressed to Council requesting consideration or action on a matter that is within municipal jurisdiction. It is one of the best ways to express support of a matter to Council, however petition organizers should be diligent to fulfill the petition requirements to ensure their petition is considered valid before Council.
As per Chapter 22 of the City of Orillia Municipal Code - Council - Procedures, "Petitions, as defined, shall:
a) include a brief, concise statement of purpose followed by the printed and legible names, addresses, and signatures of all signatories;
b) only be submitted on a form prescribed by the Clerk for that purpose; and,
c) provide for the submission of an executive statement to be placed as a Consent Agenda item under the Correspondence heading with a recommendation from the Clerk, as prepared in consultation with the Mayor and CAO."
Complete the prescribed Petition Form, prepared by the Council Services Division, to ensure your petition contains all items as required by Chapter 22. Please note that only the prescribed Petition form, as prepared by the Council Services Division, will be accepted as a valid petition form.
Organizer(s) of a petition wishing to speak and present to Council shall request and follow the procedures for deputation, which can be found below under the "Appearing before Mayor and Council" tab.
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Deputations to Council
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| Any person wishing to appear as a deputation to Council at a regular meeting must complete the "Deputation Request Form".
Deputation requests are screened by the Clerk, in consultation with the Mayor. The Clerk's Office will contact you by telephone, letter, or email regarding your request. The Clerk will inform Council of requests that are not granted.
If a deputation request is granted, all presentation materials must be submitted to the Clerk's Office by 12:00 Noon on the Tuesday prior to the Council meeting date.
Deputation Guidelines
There are some restrictions regarding delegations/deputations:
- The subject matter of the deputation must be within municipal jurisdiction.
- Any person who has previously addressed Council on a topic will not be allowed a second deputation unless the person can prove that there is new information to present to Council.
- No deputation requests will be heard during the summer months.
- A maximum of three speakers will be permitted per deputation.
- Each deputation will be limited to a maximum of 10 minutes.
- No more than two deputations shall be scheduled for any Council meeting, subject to the necessity to deal with matters of an urgent nature.
- Deputations to Council from declared candidates for elected office shall not be permitted.
- Deputations shall not promote a specific business.
Deputation Process
Deputations are scheduled at the beginning of regular Council meetings only. If you are chosen to present a deputation, you do not have to read your deputation to Council. They will have already received a copy of your written submission. Instead, simply state the reason you are appearing, the solution or action you are seeking and the reason for your request.
Following your deputation, members of Council will then have the opportunity to ask you any further questions but they shall not enter into a debate. Members of Council will only interrupt a deputation on a point of order.
After Council has heard your deputation and the members have asked you any questions that they might have, the Mayor will ask you to take a seat in the gallery. Any motions arising from a deputation shall be considered under the "Motions" heading of the agenda. Members of Council will then discuss the matter and determine an appropriate course of action.
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Open Public Forum
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Members of the public wishing to speak during Open Public Forum must register a minimum of four business hours prior to the commencement of the meeting. To register, please complete and submit the Open Public Forum Request Form.
Please note that there are two periods for Open Public Forum.
- The Open Public Forum at or near the beginning of the Council meeting shall limit each speaker to a matter that appears on the current meeting agenda.
- The Open Public Forum period at or near the end of the Council meeting shall limit each speaker to a matter within the City's municipal jurisdiction.
Each Open Public Forum period is limited to a maximum of 30 minutes, with speakers limited to three minutes each. Speakers will be required to provide their name and if they are a resident or non-resident. By participating in the Open Public Forum, speakers agree to:
- Speak only to the matter referred to on the registration form as approved;
- Speak respectfully when addressing Council;
- Use proper language and refrain from derogatory, defamatory comments or profanity;
- Comments regarding current or pending litigation, insurance claims, or personal and personnel matters or matters that are deemed confidential in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act will not be permitted;
- Refrain from using signs or placards or from distributing written brochures, flyers or other promotional materials; and;
- Obey the rules of procedure or a decision of the Chair.
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